Chapter 4: Intentional Torts Flashcards
Intentional Torts
Involve intentional, rather than merely careless, conduct.
Examples of intentional torts:
- Assault.
- Battery.
- Invasion of privacy.
- False imprisonment.
- Trespass to land.
- Interference with chattels.
For an intentional tort, does the plaintiff have to prove that the defendant intended to either cause harm or commit a tort?
No.
Assault
Occurs when the defendant intentionally causes the plaintiff to reasonably believe that offensive bodily contact is imminent.
Is the tort of assault based on physical contact?
No.
Someone punches you from behind and you did not know it was coming. Did you commit the tort of assault?
No.
Does a gun have to be loaded for you to be charged with the tort of assault?
No.
What is the 4 criteria for assault?
- Not based on physical contact. Threat of contact.
- Reasonable belief.
- Imminent.
- Threat of offensive contact.
Battery
Consist of offensive bodily contact.
Say a bullet shoots through your clothes. Is the shooter responsible for the tort of battery?
Yes.
Is all bodily contact offensive in the sense that it is battery?
No, normal interactions such as shaking hands or brushing past someone is not offensive. However, a doctor performing life-saving surgery against a patient’s wishes can be charged with battery.
Is there a general tort of invasion of privacy?
No.
A photographer who sneaks onto someone’s property to obtain candid pictures commits the tort of…
Trespass to land.
Employees who publish embarrassing details about their employer’s private life may be liable for…
Breach of confidence.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell was able to sue a newspaper that published a photograph of her coming our of a Narcotics Anonymous meeting under…
Abuse of private information.
A company that makes unauthorized use of a celebrity’s image to sell its own products may commit the tort of…
Misappropriation of personality.
A newspaper that ignores a judge’s instructions and publishes the name of a police officer who has been sexually assaulted during an undercover investigation may commit the tort of…
Negligence.
False Imprisonment
Occurs when a person is confined within a fixed area without justification.
Is physical force necessary for false imprisonment?
No, can be psychological. If a security guard tells you to go in the back room and you feel you have no choice, that is false imprisonment.
Malicious Prosecution
Occurs when the defendant improperly causes the plaintiff to be prosecuted.
What is the criteria for malicious prosecution?
- The defendant started the proceedings.
- Out of malice, or for some improper purpose.
- Without honestly believing in reasonable grounds that a crime has been committed.
- The plaintiff was eventually acquitted of the alleged crime.
What is a complete defence to all intentional torts?
Consent.
A police officer may arrest anyone who is reasonably suspected of…
1) Being in the act of committing a crime.
2) having committed a serious crime in the past.
A private citizen is entitled to make an arrest only if a crime is…
Actually being committed by the suspect.
Trespass to Land
Occurs when the defendant improperly interferes with the plaintiff’s land.