Legal Definitions - place of wrong

The term place of wrong refers to the specific geographical location, typically a particular state, where the final event or consequence of an alleged civil wrong (known as a tort) occurs. This location is crucial because it is where the harm or injury that completes the tort actually takes place, making someone legally responsible. It is not necessarily where the wrongful action began, but rather where the "last event" necessary to establish liability happened.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Personal Injury (Car Accident):

  Imagine a truck driver, employed by a company based in Arizona, falls asleep at the wheel while driving through New Mexico. The truck veers off course and causes a multi-car pile-up, injuring several people on the highway.

  In this scenario, the place of wrong is New Mexico. Even though the driver's company is in Arizona and the driver started their journey elsewhere, the actual collision and the resulting injuries – the "last event necessary to make an actor liable" for negligence – occurred within New Mexico's borders. Therefore, New Mexico law would likely govern the tort claims filed by the injured parties.

• Product Liability:

  Consider a consumer in Georgia who purchases a new kitchen appliance manufactured in Ohio. Due to a defect in its design, the appliance malfunctions and causes a fire, resulting in significant property damage to the consumer's home in Georgia.

  The place of wrong in this product liability case would be Georgia. While the appliance was designed and manufactured in Ohio, the final event that created liability – the property damage caused by the defective product – happened in the consumer's home in Georgia. Georgia law would likely be applied to determine liability for the damages.

• Defamation/Reputational Harm:

  Suppose an individual living in Massachusetts posts a false and damaging statement about a small business owner on a popular online forum. The business owner, who resides and operates their business primarily in Vermont, discovers the post and subsequently suffers significant reputational harm and a measurable loss of customers in Vermont.

  Despite the defamatory statement being posted from Massachusetts, the place of wrong for the business owner's defamation claim would likely be Vermont. This is because the "last event necessary" for liability – the actual harm to the business owner's reputation and business operations – occurred and was felt most acutely in Vermont, where their business is located and customers were lost.