Also known as: wrongdoers · tortfeasor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A person whose conduct invalidates a donative transfer by overcoming the donor's free will or by coercing or deceiving the donor into making a transfer the donor would not otherwise have made.
A tortfeasor whose intentional conduct bars contribution from co-tortfeasors and whose death ends liability for punitive damages.
A person whose conduct invalidates a donative transfer by overcoming the donor's free will or by coercing or deceiving the donor into making a transfer the donor would not otherwise have made.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A tortfeasor whose intentional conduct bars contribution from co-tortfeasors and whose death ends liability for punitive damages.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Whitney Washington, an elderly donor, relied on her longtime advisor Winston Ward for all financial decisions. Ward repeatedly isolated Washington from family and urged her to sign a new trust naming him sole beneficiary. The court finds that Ward's persistent pressure overcame Washington's free will and caused her to execute the trust she would not otherwise have made.
Willa Whitman, weakened by illness, depended on her caregiver Willow West for daily care. West threatened to leave unless Whitman executed a new will leaving everything to West. The threat of abandonment coerced Whitman into signing the will she would not otherwise have made.
Winston Ward told donor Whitney Washington that her granddaughter had been charged with insurance fraud, a claim Ward never verified. Relying on the false report, Washington amended her trust to name Ward beneficiary. The reckless misrepresentation caused Washington to make a transfer she would not otherwise have made.
No. The term applies to any person whose conduct procures a donative transfer by undue influence, duress, or fraud, and it also covers tortfeasors whose intentional acts bar contribution. The label therefore reaches both intentional and reckless conduct depending on the governing rule.
Supporting sources
Willow Walker and Wyatt Wilson jointly assaulted a third party. Walker paid the entire judgment and then sued Wilson for contribution. Because Walker intentionally caused the harm, the court denies any right of contribution.
Wolverine Steel and Whitestone Bank are jointly liable for a construction defect. Wolverine Steel holds a contractual right of indemnity against Whitestone Bank. After Wolverine Steel pays the full judgment, it cannot obtain contribution from Whitestone Bank.
After Wyatt Wilson died, the estate faced a pending tort suit seeking punitive damages for Wilson's intentional misconduct. The court holds that Wilson's death terminates any liability for punitive damages.
The death of the tortfeasor terminates liability for punitive damages under the survival statute, but compensatory damages survive. The rule prevents punitive awards against an estate while preserving compensation for the injured party.
Supporting sources
A wrongdoer who intentionally caused the harm has no right of contribution. When one tortfeasor holds indemnity against another, neither may seek contribution from the other. In all other cases the right exists only after the paying tortfeasor discharges the entire claim.
Supporting sources
…for jurisdiction to adjudicate claims over which the State would not have jurisdiction if International Shoe applied is that a wrongdoer "should not be able to avoid payment of his obligations by the expedient of removing his assets to a place where he is not subject to an in personam suit." Restatement § 66, Comment…