8 HASS CIVICS & CITIZENSHIP
Civil Law
An example civil law case reached its conclusion in July 2023 when “A South Florida jury...awarded $1.18 million (US$800,000) in damages to a little girl who received second-degree burns when a hot Chicken McNugget fell on her leg as her mother pulled away from the drive-thru of a McDonald's restaurant.” (www.9news.com.au, 2023)
What is “civil law”? “Civil law protects individuals. It typically deals with disputes between individuals, corporations and government bodies over actions (or lack of action) that result in a person experiencing loss or harm. Civil law generally aims to right wrongs by compensating (paying) for the losses suffered. If an individual has their rights infringed and suffers or is harmed as a result, that individual can sue the party who breached their rights and caused the loss for damages. Civil law means we have the right to expect others to be careful in matters that affect us. If others are not careful and we are harmed, civil law gives us ways to right this wrong. For example, if we are eating at a restaurant, we have the right to expect that the people preparing and serving our food are following safe food-handling procedures, so that we do not become sick when we eat that food. If we do become sick from eating food that has been carelessly prepared, we can take civil action against those responsible. The point of taking people to court in this way is to come to a resolution in which the person who has been wronged is compensated for their suffering.” (Easton et al., 2023)
The differences between criminal and civil law: “A breach of civil law does not normally constitute a criminal offence. Criminal law and civil law have a number of differences that it is important to recognise, as depicted in Table 5.1.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
A further example of a civil case unfolded in 2012 when “Fast food giant KFC (was) ordered to pay $8 million to the family of a girl who was left with brain damage after contracting salmonella poisoning. Monika Samaan's family (claimed) she became seriously ill when she ate a Chicken Twister at Villawood KFC in 2005. The then-seven-year-old was in a coma for six months and acquired spastic quadraplegia with severe brain damage.” (KFC to pay $8m over girl’s brain damage, 2012)
Participants in civil and criminal cases: “In a civil case, the person who brings the matter to the courts is referred to as the plaintiff or applicant. The plaintiff’s name appears first in the case title, such as Zapata in Zapata v Gunce. The person against whom an action is taken is called the defendant or respondent, and their name appears second in the case title (Gunce in the example provided). In a criminal case, the Crown (the prosecution) brings a case against a person. For example, with R v Green, Green would be referred to as the accused or defendant. The ‘R’ stands for the Latin terms of Regina (Queen) or Rex (King). R v Green therefore means ‘The Crown against Green’.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
The standard of proof in civil and criminal cases: “In a civil case, the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities. A fact is proved to be true on the balance of probabilities if its existence is more probable than not. In comparison, criminal cases work on the standard of beyond reasonable doubt. In R v Standley (1996), the court directed the jury as follows, ‘If you think there is a reasonable possibility that the accused is not guilty, then he is entitled to be found not guilty.’ The burden of proof referred to by courts defines who has the obligation of having to prove or disprove a disputed fact. In civil matters, this is the plaintiff/applicant; in the criminal system, it is the prosecution.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
Cases that require both criminal and civil proceedings: “There are several situations that can give rise to both criminal and civil proceedings. For example, when a person is assaulted, they will normally go to the police, who after investigating the matter may commence criminal proceedings against the accused. If found guilty, the accused will be sentenced and given an appropriate penalty. But while justice has been served, the victim of the assault has not been adequately compensated for their loss and is not in the same position that they were in before the assault was committed – for example, where there are severe physical injuries. In this case, the victim can commence a civil action seeking compensation for damages and losses suffered.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
Areas of civil law - Contract law: “Contract law supports everyday life in Australia. Consumers make contracts by opening a bank account, renting a movie online, being employed at McDonald’s or simply buying groceries from a shop...Contract law is important because it facilitates all these transactions and reassures both parties that the contract will be performed. By definition, a contract is a promise between two parties that is enforceable by law. Contract law can require that the person performs their promise or compensates the other party for non-performance.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
In 2017, “US gaming company Valve Corporation (Half-Life, Counter-Strike) (was) fined $3 million after the Federal Court found its online games site Steam breached Australian Consumer Laws....A court found that Steam’s website breached Australian consumer law because it stated that consumers were not entitled to a refund and had no access to quality guarantees.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018) This is an example of contract law being enforced to protect Australian consumers.
Areas of civil law - Neglience: “Negligence is a form of civil law, specifically a tort that applies when a person fails to take reasonable care, and injury or damage results. The aim is to protect innocent victims from any loss or suffering they may have experienced due to someone else’s negligence.” (Lippingwell et al., 2018)
In a water skiing accident 1980 on the NSW Central Coast, “the plaintiff became a quadriplegic after hitting his head on the bottom of a lake...The water was just over a meter deep at that location. The plaintiff claimed that a nearby ‘Deep Water’ sign erected by the Council’s engineer misled him into thinking the lake was normally deep and safe for inexperienced skiers. The sign created a reasonable expectation of deep water throughout the lake making him believe that it was safe for skiing. In reality, the Council had put the sign adjacent to a deep channel dredged though the lake was otherwise shallow.” (Gandhi, 2023) The court ruled in favour of the plaintiff. It was decided that the council had breached their duty of care towards those who participated in water sports on their land.
References: adam.blackshaw (2017). Ronald Ryan. [online] www.nfsa.gov.au. Available at: https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/ronald-ryan. Easton, M., Saldais, M., Davey, K., Smith, R., Woodard, K., Dumovic, V., Cook, B. and Andrew, O. (2023). Oxford HASS 8. 2nd ed. Docklands: Oxford University Press. Gandhi, R. (2023). Wyong Shire Council v Shirt (1980): A Case Summary. [online] Case Judgments. Available at: https://casejudgments.com/wyong-shire-councilv-shirt-1980-a-case-summary/. KFC to pay $8m over girl’s brain damage. (2012). ABC News. [online] 27 Apr. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-27/kfc-to-pay-248m-overgirl27s-brain-damage/3976690. Lippingwell, S., Thompson, A., Harris, L., Gibson, K., Thomas, J. and Smith, D. (2018). Investigating Legal Studies for Queensland, 2e. 2nd ed. Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press. www.9news.com.au. (2023). US girl burned by McDonald’s nugget awarded $1.18m in damages. [online] Available at: https://www.9news.com.au/world/jury-awards-florida-girl-burned-bymcdonalds-chicken-mcnugget-800000-in-damages/cb374abd-affe-4c3c-bf0d1f1774810ad5 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2023].