Baba Kama 3:7-8

Baba Kama 3:7

Let’s say that a person chops wood in a private domain and causes damage in the public domain, or he chops wood in the public domain and causes damage in a private domain, or he chops wood in one private domain and causes damage in another private domain – in all of these cases, he is liable.

Baba Kama 3:8

Let’s say that two oxen – neither of which has a presumption of causing damage (tam) – injure one another. One owner pays the other the difference between their half-damages. [For example, if A owes $100 in damages to B and B owes $75 in damages to A, A pays B $25.] If both animals have a presumption that they will cause damage (muad), one owner pays the other the difference between their full damages. If one animal is a tam and the other is a muad, either the owner of the muad pays the owner of the tam the difference of full damages or the owner of the tam pays the owner of the muad the difference of half-damages (depending on whose animal was more injured). Similarly, if two people both injure one another, one pays the other the difference in full damages. If a man injures a muad animal and vice versa, one pays the other the difference in full damages. If a man injures a tam animal and vice versa, either the human pays the owner of the tam the difference of full damages or the owner of the tam pays the human the difference of half-damages (depending on who was more injured). Rabbi Akiva says that even a tam pays the difference in full damages if it injures a person.