misfeasance

n.
Improper and unlawful execution of an act that in itself is lawful and proper.

[Anglo-Norman mesfesaunce, from mesfere, to do wrong : mes-, wrongly (from Old French; see mis-¹) + fere, to do (from Latin facere).]

Performing official duties irresponsibly, or improperly carrying out a lawful act. Contrast with Malfeasance committing an unlawful act in an official capacity; or Nonfeasance failing to doing something a person is obliged to do by contract or agreement.

(misfē'zens)
n

The improper performance of some act that one may lawfully do.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A term used in tort law to describe an act that is legal but performed improperly.

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.

For example, assume that a janitor is cleaning a restroom in a restaurant. If he leaves the floor wet, he or his employer could be liable for any injuries resulting from the wet floor. This is because the janitor owed a duty of care toward users of the restroom, and he breached that duty by leaving the floor wet.

In theory, misfeasance is distinct from nonfeasance. Nonfeasance is a term that describes a failure to act that results in harm to another party. Misfeasance, by contrast, describes 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.

To illustrate, consider the example of the wet bathroom floor. One court could call a resulting injury the product of misfeasance by focusing on the wetness of the floor. The washing of the floor was legal, but the act of leaving the floor wet was improper. Another court could call a resulting injury the product of nonfeasance by focusing on the janitor's failure to post a warning sign.

See: malfeasance.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - forseelse (lovlig handling, der foretages på ulovlig vis)

Nederlands (Dutch)
machtsmisbruik

Français (French)
n. - méfait

Deutsch (German)
n. - rechtswidrige Ausübung von legitimer Autorität, pflichtwidrige Handlung, Mißbrauch (der Amtsgewalt)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πλημμελής εκτέλεση πράξης ή καθήκοντος από αμέλεια, παρανομία

Italiano (Italian)
abuso d'autorità, infrazione della legge

Português (Portuguese)
n. - infração (m) (Jur.), abuso de autoridade (m) (Jur.)

Русский (Russian)
правонарушение

Español (Spanish)
n. - transgresión, abuso de autoridad, ejecución ilegal de un procedimiento lícito

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tjänstefel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
不当行为, 过失, 行为失检

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 不當行為, 過失, 行為失檢

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 직권남용

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 失当行為, 過失

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تجاوز القانون‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עבירה (על החוק), שימוש לרעה בסמכות, חטא, מעילה (בתפקיד)‬

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