Contract vs. Tort — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 14, 2024
Contract law governs agreements between parties that are voluntarily entered into, whereas tort law addresses wrongs and compensation arising from breaches of legal duties not based on agreements.
Difference Between Contract and Tort
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Contract law centers around the agreements made between parties who have mutual obligations voluntarily accepted by each. Whereas, tort law involves cases where one party’s actions cause harm to another, leading to a claim of liability without a prior agreement.
In contract law, the enforcement of promises is based on the premise that the parties have entered into a pact that legally binds them. On the other hand, tort law is primarily concerned with providing relief to individuals harmed by the unreasonable actions of others.
Contracts require the elements of mutual consent, offer, acceptance, and consideration to be legally valid, which ensures all parties are aware and agreeable to the terms. Whereas tort law does not require a pre-existing relationship or agreement, focusing instead on the duty not to cause harm.
Breach of contract occurs when one of the parties fails to fulfill their part of the agreement as specified in the contract. In contrast, a tort is committed when a person’s actions unlawfully infringe on the rights of others, such as in cases of negligence or assault.
Remedies in contract law often involve the awarding of damages that aim to put the injured party in the position they would have been had the contract been fulfilled. Tort law, however, aims to restore the injured party to the position they were in before the tort occurred, which can include compensation for pain and suffering or punitive damages.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Law governing agreements between parties.
Law addressing wrongs and compensation claims.
Basis of Claim
Breach of agreed terms.
Breach of a legal duty not based on contract.
Required Elements
Offer, acceptance, intention, consideration.
Duty, breach, causation, damages.
Focus
Fulfillment of agreed terms.
Compensation for harm caused.
Types of Damages
Compensatory, specific performance.
Compensatory, punitive, nominal.
Compare with Definitions
Contract
A legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties.
She entered into a contract with the company for her new job.
Tort
A civil wrong or breach of duty to another person as defined by law.
A tort is often the basis for a lawsuit.
Contract
A binding promise or set of promises that the law will enforce.
Their contract included a confidentiality clause.
Tort
An act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm.
Negligence is a common tort that leads to many personal injury claims.
Contract
An agreement enforceable by law.
The breach of contract led to a lawsuit.
Tort
A category of law involving civil redresses except breach of contract.
Trespass is considered a tort against property.
Contract
A contract is a legally binding document between at least two parties that defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to an agreement. A contract is legally enforceable because it meets the requirements and approval of the law.
Tort
The legal liability that a person incurs when causing injury.
She was liable for tort when her unsecured load caused an accident.
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law.
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdiction, is a civil wrong (other than breach of contract) that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. It can include intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, financial losses, injuries, invasion of privacy, and many other things.
Contract
The writing or document containing such an agreement.
Tort
A wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading to legal liability
The law of tort
Public nuisance is a crime as well as a tort
Contract
The branch of law dealing with formal agreements between parties.
Tort
A wrong that is committed by someone who is legally obligated to provide a certain amount of carefulness in behavior to another and that causes injury to that person, who may seek compensation in a civil suit for damages.
Contract
Marriage as a formal agreement; betrothal.
Tort
(law) A wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an injury and can be remedied in civil court, usually through the awarding of damages.
Contract
The last and highest bid of a suit in one hand in bridge.
Tort
(obsolete) An injury or wrong.
Contract
The number of tricks thus bid.
Tort
(slang) tortoise
Contract
Contract bridge.
Tort
(slang) tortoiseshell; a tortie.
Contract
A paid assignment to murder someone
Put out a contract on the mobster's life.
Tort
(obsolete) Twisted.
Contract
To enter into by contract; establish or settle by formal agreement
Contract a marriage.
Tort
Synonym of tart}} {{gloss
Contract
To acquire or incur
Contract obligations.
Contract a serious illness.
Tort
Synonym of taut
Contract
To reduce in size by drawing together; shrink.
Tort
(nautical) Of a boat: watertight.
Contract
To pull together; wrinkle.
Tort
Mischief; injury; calamity.
That had them long opprest with tort.
Contract
(Grammar) To shorten (a word or words) by omitting or combining some of the letters or sounds, as do not to don't.
Tort
Any civil wrong or injury; a wrongful act (not involving a breach of contract) for which an action will lie; a form of action, in some parts of the United States, for a wrong or injury.
Contract
To enter into or make an agreement
Contract for garbage collection.
Tort
Stretched tight; taut.
Yet holds he them with tortest rein.
Contract
To become reduced in size by or as if by being drawn together
The pupils of the patient's eyes contracted.
Tort
(law) any wrongdoing for which an action for damages may be brought
Contract
An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
Marriage is a contract.
Sign a contract
Write up a contract
Read a contract
Countersign a contract
Legally-binding contract
Unwritten contract
Tort
A basis for a claim of damages independent of a contract.
Defamation is a tort that does not involve contractual obligations.
Contract
(legal) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
Contract
(legal) The document containing such an agreement.
Contract
(legal) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
Contract
(informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.
The mafia boss put a contract out on the man who betrayed him.
Contract
(bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
Contract
(obsolete) Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
(obsolete) Not abstract; concrete.
Contract
(ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
The snail’s body contracted into its shell.
To contract one’s sphere of action
Contract
(grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
The word “cannot” is often contracted into “can’t”.
Contract
(transitive) To enter into a contract with. en
Contract
(transitive) To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
Contract
(intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain.
To contract for carrying the mail
Contract
(transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
She contracted the habit of smoking in her teens.
To contract a debt
Contract
(transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
Contract
To draw together or nearer; to reduce to a less compass; to shorten, narrow, or lessen; as, to contract one's sphere of action.
In all things desuetude doth contract and narrow our faculties.
Contract
To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
Thou didst contract and purse thy brow.
Contract
To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease.
Each from each contract new strength and light.
Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high station.
Contract
To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for.
We have contracted an inviolable amity, peace, and lague with the aforesaid queen.
Many persons . . . had contracted marriage within the degrees of consanguinity . . . prohibited by law.
Contract
To betroth; to affiance.
The truth is, she and I, long since contracted,Are now so sure, that nothing can dissolve us.
Contract
To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
Contract
To be drawn together so as to be diminished in size or extent; to shrink; to be reduced in compass or in duration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet.
Years contracting to a moment.
Contract
To make an agreement; to covenant; to agree; to bargain; as, to contract for carrying the mail.
Contract
Contracted; as, a contract verb.
Contract
Contracted; affianced; betrothed.
Contract
The agreement of two or more persons, upon a sufficient consideration or cause, to do, or to abstain from doing, some act; an agreement in which a party undertakes to do, or not to do, a particular thing; a formal bargain; a compact; an interchange of legal rights.
Contract
A formal writing which contains the agreement of parties, with the terms and conditions, and which serves as a proof of the obligation.
Contract
The act of formally betrothing a man and woman.
This is the the night of the contract.
Contract
A binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
Contract
(contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
Contract
A variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid
Contract
Enter into a contractual arrangement
Contract
Engage by written agreement;
They signed two new pitchers for the next season
Contract
Squeeze or press together;
She compressed her lips
The spasm contracted the muscle
Contract
Become smaller or draw together;
The fabric shrank
The balloon shrank
Contract
Be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness;
He got AIDS
She came down with pneumonia
She took a chill
Contract
Make smaller;
The heat contracted the woollen garment
Contract
Compress or concentrate;
Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan
Contract
Make or become more narrow or restricted;
The selection was narrowed
The road narrowed
Contract
Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements;
The manuscript must be shortened
Contract
The document detailing the terms of an agreement.
He reviewed the contract before signing.
Contract
An arrangement for a legal relationship involving work or services against payment.
The contractor signed a contract for the completion of the house.
Common Curiosities
Can a situation involve both contract and tort law?
Yes, scenarios like professional malpractice can involve both contractual breaches and tortious conduct.
What types of damages are recoverable in tort law?
Damages in tort may include compensatory, punitive, and sometimes nominal damages.
What is the main difference between contract and tort law?
Contract law deals with the rights and duties that arise from agreements, while tort law covers rights and duties that arise from acts or omissions causing harm.
How does consent affect tort and contract law?
In contracts, consent is crucial to forming an agreement; in torts, a lack of consent can be key to establishing a wrongful act.
What is needed to prove a breach of contract?
Proof of agreement, failure to perform as per the agreement, and resulting damages.
Are punitive damages common in contract law?
Punitive damages are rare in contract law, usually limited to cases involving fraudulent or malicious behavior.
What is a contractual remedy?
Contractual remedies include damages, specific performance, or rescission aimed at enforcing or redressing breach of contracts.
What does "negligence" mean in tort law?
Negligence refers to the failure to exercise reasonable care that results in damage or injury to another.
What is "consideration" in contract law?
Consideration refers to something of value exchanged between parties in a contract.
Can you sue for emotional distress in contract law?
Typically, emotional distress claims are not compensable under contract law unless the breach also constitutes a tort.
What role does "intention" play in contract and tort laws?
Intention is vital in contracts to form an agreement, whereas in torts, it relates to intentional acts that harm others.
How does public policy affect contract and tort laws?
Public policy can limit certain contractual terms and influence the enforcement of tort laws to promote social welfare.
How are tort damages calculated?
Tort damages are calculated based on the extent of harm, including physical, emotional, and economic injuries.
What constitutes a tortious interference?
Tortious interference occurs when a third party intentionally damages a contractual or business relationship.
What is specific performance?
Specific performance is a contractual remedy requiring the breaching party to fulfill their part of the agreement.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
