If you use spell check and you type the word “tortious” you will find that it is thought that you meant to write “tortuous”. So what is “tortious” and what is “tortuous”? Tortious conduct is conduct or acts that create liability, such as for negligence, though not necessarily just negligence. Indeed, much of the litigation is related to negligence but it can include defamation, such as libel and slander, nuisance, and trespass. There are other civil wrongs, such as false imprisonment, assault and battery, and even toxic torts. These wrongs may lead to a “tortuous” result and the claimant has to prove damages as well as proximate or legal cause. Another way to conceptualize the tort of negligence is that the plaintiff must prove: duty, breach, causality, and injury. Maybe if the behavior is “tortious” it is indeed “tortuous”.