Battery Flashcards
1
Q
Battery - Definition
A
- an intentional infliction of a harmful or offensive contact w/ the plaintiff (Rst 2d Section 13)
2
Q
Battery - Intentionality
A
Act must be intentional:
- must be for the purpose of inflicting harmful or offensive contact
- OR realize that such harmful or offensive contact is substantially certain to result
3
Q
What do you need to intend?
A
- you definitely need intent w/ respect to contact w/ other person’s body, and you DON’T need intent as to the specific injuries suffered as a result of the core battery
- BUT some debate about whether you need intent as to the harmful or offensive quality of the contact - majority approach says you need to find some slice of a culpable state of mind for this aspect (reasonable person would suspect harmful/offensive) but some are strict liability on this
4
Q
Garratt v. Dailey - Facts
A
- Brian Dailey (5 yrs old) visiting Naomi Garratt
- sister Ruth Garratt goes to sit down in a spot where a chair had been that Brian pulled away to sit in himself -> Ruth breaks her hip
5
Q
Garratt v. Dailey - Holding
A
- court ultimately remands to determine whether Brian had sufficient knowledge that Ms. Garratt would be sitting down -> if he did, that constitutes intent
- on remand, lower court then found Brian did have the knowledge -> ruled for pl
6
Q
Garratt v. Dailey - Rule
A
Intent for battery can come from either:
- purpose (hard intent) OR
- knowledge to a substantial certainty (soft intent)
7
Q
Ellis v. D’Angelo - Facts
A
- Ellis pushed to ground by 4 yr old def -> said she suffered physical injuries as a result + sued the 4 yr old for battery
8
Q
Ellis v. D’Angelo - Rule
A
- a child can possess the intent necessary to establish an actionable tort claim
- focuses on the child’s mental capacity to intend the harmful action
- note that the court did not require the child understand the wrongfulness of the conduct - just needed to intend the physical contact (strict liability-esque conception of battery - you don’t need to intend the action be harmful or offensive, you just need to intend the action itself)
9
Q
Jones v. Fisher - Facts
A
- employers loaned employee money for an upper plate in her mouth
- employee got another job -> when she went to pick up last paycheck, employer requested she pay the $200 back in three days or would take the plate from her -> she refused, + employer used physical force to take plate out of mouth
- since no question of liability, case is largely about damages
10
Q
What remedies are available for battery?
A
- substantial jury discretion
- only set aside as excessive when there’s indication that it was result of passion, prejudice or corruption, or clear that jury disregarded evidence or rules of law
- compensatory damages + punitive damages
11
Q
Compensatory Damages
A
- compensate individual for whatever loss of well-being he or she has suffered as a result of the injury
Includes:
- medical costs
- lost wages
- pain and suffering (difficult to calculate)
12
Q
Punitive Damages
A
- not really about compensating the injured party, more concerned w/ punishment to wrongdoer/deterrent to others
- test: malice, “character of outrage frequently associated w/ crime”, “wanton, willful or reckless disregard of plaintiff’s rights”
13
Q
Jones v. Fisher - Holding
A
- jury gave $1000 for compensatory damages at trial -> appellate cuts down to $500
- jury gave $5000 for punitive -> appellate cuts down to $2000
- compensatory damages cover actual harm to pl, vs. punitive set up as punishment to defs so there is specific + general deterrence from act occurring again
14
Q
Jones v. Fisher - Rule
A
- In torts, damages may be nominal, compensatory, or punitive, + can also ask for injunction
- for punitive damages for battery, court needs to see some sort of wanton disregard for rights of another
15
Q
Battery and Consent
A
- consent is an affirmative defense to battery -> if you have consent, all the harm + offense of battery goes away
Complicating Factors:
- q of scope of consent
- manifestations of consent (objective controls over inward emotion)
- context matters