Action Ex Delicto

(˘ex d˘el-˘ık 9 - t¯o)—Lat.: cause of action which arises out of fault, misconduct, or malfeasance, 100 S.W. 2d 687, 689; usually refers to an action in tort , arising from breach of a legal duty not related to a contract , rather than one based on a contract. “If the cause of action given expression in the complaint arises from a breach of promise, the action is ex contractu [but] if that cause of action arises from a breach of duty growing out of the contract, it is in form ‘ex delicto’.” 120 So. 153, 154. See also delictum.