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The Tort Of Seduction: Fathers And Daughters In Nineteenth Century Canada, Constance Backhouse

Dalhousie Law Journal

The tort of seduction, one of the most popular civil actions in nineteenthcentury Canada, was rooted in feudal notions that suggested that certain individuals could hold property interests in others. In the traditional actio per quod serviium amisit, a master was entitled to sue a tort-feasor who injured his servant for the loss of his or her services. The servant was treated as a species of chattel belonging to the master. As medieval master-servant relations began to dissolve in a modernizing economy, the tort was narrowed until it related almost exclusively to fathers and daughters. Fathers continued to bring actions …