Legal Definitions - transitory wrong

A transitory wrong refers to a legal wrong, such as a personal injury, a breach of contract, or defamation, that is not inherently tied to a specific piece of land or a fixed location. Because the wrong itself is not localized to real property, a lawsuit concerning a transitory wrong can generally be filed in any jurisdiction where the defendant can be found and served with legal papers, regardless of where the wrong originally occurred. This contrasts with a "local wrong," which involves damage to real estate and must typically be litigated in the jurisdiction where the property is located.

• Example 1: Personal Injury from an Accident

  Imagine a driver from California causes a car accident in Nevada, injuring a tourist from Arizona. After the accident, the California driver returns home. The injury (the wrong) occurred in Nevada, but it is not tied to a specific piece of land in Nevada. Because it's a transitory wrong, the injured tourist from Arizona can choose to sue the driver in California (where the driver resides), in Nevada (where the accident happened), or potentially even in Arizona if there's a basis for jurisdiction there, rather than being restricted solely to Nevada. The ability to sue where the defendant can be found illustrates its "transitory" nature.

• Example 2: Breach of a Service Contract

  Consider a web design company based in Canada that enters into a contract with a client in New York to build a new e-commerce website. The contract is signed electronically. The Canadian company fails to deliver the promised website by the deadline, breaching the contract. The breach of contract is a transitory wrong. Even though the client is in New York and the company is in Canada, and the contract was electronic, the wrong itself is not fixed to a specific physical location. The client could potentially sue the web design company in New York (where the client suffered damages) or in Canada (where the company is located), or another jurisdiction if the contract specifies or if there's another basis for jurisdiction, because the wrong is not tied to real estate.

• Example 3: Online Defamation

  Suppose an individual living in Florida posts a false and damaging statement about a business owner from Texas on a widely accessible social media platform. This statement is then viewed by people across many states and even internationally. The act of defamation (the wrong) is considered transitory because its impact is not confined to a single physical location or piece of property. While the statement was posted from Florida, its harmful effects spread widely. The business owner from Texas could potentially sue the individual in Florida (where the statement originated), in Texas (where the business owner resides and suffered harm), or any other jurisdiction where the individual could be found and where the defamatory statement caused damage, rather than being limited to the exact spot where the "post" was physically made.