Misfeasance in public office

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Misfeasance in public office" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Part of a series on common law
English tort law
Negligence
Acts of the claimant Bolam test Breach of duty Breaking the chain Causation Duty of care Eggshell skull Loss of chance Loss of right Professional negligence Psychiatric harm Remoteness Res ipsa loquitur
Trespass
Occupiers' liability
Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 Occupiers' Liability Act 1984
Defamation
Strict liability
Rylands v Fletcher Vicarious liability
Nuisance
v t e

Misfeasance in public office is a cause of action in the civil courts of England and Wales and certain Commonwealth countries. It is an action against the holder of a public office, alleging in essence that the office-holder has misused or abused their power.^[1] The tort can be traced back to 1703 when Chief Justice Sir John Holt decided that a landowner could sue a police constable who deprived him of his right to vote (Ashby v White).^[2] The tort was revived in 1985 when it was used so that French turkey producers could sue the Ministry of Agriculture over a dispute that harmed their sales.

Generally, a civil defendant will be liable for misfeasance if the defendant owed a duty of care toward the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty of care by improperly performing a legal act, and the improper performance resulted in harm to the plaintiff.

In theory, misfeasance is distinct from nonfeasance. Nonfeasance is a failure to act that results in harm to another party. Misfeasance, by contrast, is some affirmative act that, though legal, causes harm. In practice, the distinction is confusing and uninstructive. Courts often have difficulty determining whether harm resulted from a failure to act or from an act that was improperly performed.