Civil liability is assigned to individuals or companies for wrongs done to others, often resulting from negligence or breach of contract. Liability can also arise from personal injury, and the responsible party may be required to pay medical bills and lost wages. Settlements are often reached outside of court, and civil liability does not always translate to criminal liability. The OJ Simpson case is an example of different standards of proof in civil and criminal court.
A civil liability is any fault assigned to an individual, group of individuals or company for a wrong done to another party. This error usually results from negligence or breach of contract. The most likely outcome of a liability case will be an award of some monetary value to help right the wrong. Any tort process will likely begin in the courts, but there is also the possibility that a final decision will be made in arbitration or some other process outside of a court setting.
If a company or individual fails to comply with certain parameters of a mutually agreed upon contract, the offending party may have some type of civil liability relating to that breach. When this occurs, it is usually up to the lawyers to determine the value of the violation. In some cases, if value or facts are in question, a judge or jury can ultimately decide who was wronged and by how much.
Liability can also arise from a case of negligence that results in personal injury. In the event of an automobile accident, for example, the at fault party may be required to pay the medical bills for the injured persons. Furthermore, the party at fault could also be liable for loss of wages, either for a temporary period, or for loss of wages resulting from permanent disability. Some of these may be subjective, and some penalties in a liability case may even be punitive, meaning that the award is intended to punish the responsible party.
When a lawsuit is brought in a tort case, defendants and their attorneys often meet to determine what merits, if any, the case might have. While one party or the other may initially resist a negotiation or a settlement offer, the parties often reach an agreement, perhaps because they understand that a court’s decision is totally beyond anyone else’s control. Many settlement offers come with confidentiality clauses stating that neither party can disclose the details.
While one party may have been wronged in a civil suit, this does not necessarily translate into criminal liability for the offender. It could be that criminal statutes do not prohibit the activity. In such cases, a civil judgment against an individual is the closest the justice system can go. On the other hand, some crimes are considered violations of both civil law and criminal law, so proceedings can go ahead in both courts, and even lead to different decisions.
An example of a case in both civil and criminal court and having different conclusions is the case of OJ Simpson in the 1990s. He was initially found not guilty of double murder in a criminal court, but later found liable in a civil court. While the public may find it difficult to understand how this can happen, it is often different standards of proof. In a civil suit, it is the preponderance of evidence that is the standard. In a criminal case, the court or jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.
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