Quotes About Torts

In the law of torts there is the maxim: Every dog has one free bite.

Usually it is not until there is evidence that the employee [who has changed jobs] has not lived up to his contract, expressed or implied, to maintain secrecy, that the former employer can take action. In the law of torts there is the maxim: Every dog has one free bite. A dog cannot be presumed to be vicious until he has proved that he is by biting someone. As with a dog, the former employer may have to wait for a former employee to commit some overt act before he can act.

This formulation puts all power in the hands of those who are most easily offended—or at least those who claim to be. The offense itself is the weapon. Legal torts require damages; societal torts merely require a claim of damages, without evidence.