Intentional Flashcards
Elements of Intentional Torts
- Intent
- Act
- Causation
- Injury
Types of Intent
- Specific intent
2. General intent
Which is significant in determining an intentional tort: intent to act or intent to do harm?
Intent to ACT (good faith or mistake do not negate intent)
General requisite age to be held liable for intentional tort.
5 or above
Are mentally ill people liable for intentional torts?
Yes
Eggshell Skull Plaintiff Rule
D is liable for P’s unforeseeable and uncommon physical consequences caused by D’s negligent or intentional act
Transferred Intent Doctrine
When D intends any 1 of 5 torts and accomplishes technical injury for any 1 of 5 torts, intent is established, regardless of whether caused tort was intended or whether injured plaintiff was intended.
Torts under TID
- Battery
- Assault
- False imprisonment
- Trespass to land
- Trespass to chattel
Voluntary
Willed by one’s brain
Causation
Act must have caused the injury
Assault Technical Injury
Imminent apprehension of harmful or offensive contact
Battery Technical Injury
Harmful or offensive contact
False Imprisonment Technical Injury
Confinement within a bounded area that P either knows about or is harmed by
Intentional Infliction of Emotion Distress Technical Injury
Severe emotional distress
Trespass to Land Technical Injury
Entry onto P’s real property
Trespass to Chattel Technical Injury
Intermeddling with P’s personal property
Conversion Technical Injury
Dispossession or actual damage to P’s property
Types of Intentional Torts
- Battery
- Assault
- False imprisonment
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Trespass to land
- Trespass to chattel
- Conversion
Battery Elements
- D’s intentional act
- that causes harmful or offensive contact
- to P
Harmful contact
Bodily contact resulting in physical impairment, physical pain, or illness
Offensive contact
Bodily contact offending a reasonable sense of personal dignity
Bodily contact
Can include anything so connected with P’s body as to be customarily regarded as part of P’s person (ex., clothing, cane, plate P is holding)
Assault Elements
- D’s intentional act
- that causes reasonable apprehension
- of imminent
- harmful or offensive contact
Apprehension (Assault)
Belief that D’s act is capable of immediately inflicting contact upon P unless something further occurs (NOT FEAR)
Insufficient apprehension of harmful or offensive contact (Assault)
- Threatening words alone
2. Threatening words that negate imminence (granting future harm)
Ability of D to create imminent harmful or offensive contact (Assault)
Apparent ability, not actual ability, must be shown
False Imprisonment Elements
- D’s intentional
- restraint of P
- that confines P within bounded area
- while P is conscious of confinement or suffers some harm from it
Sufficient restraint (False imprisonment)
By physical barrier, force, or immediate apprehension of harm against a person or third party
Insufficient restraint (False imprisonment)
Moral persuasion or moral pressure
Insufficient confinement (False imprisonment)
P has knowledge of reasonable means of escape
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Elements
- D’s intentional or reckless act
- that causes P severe emotional distress
- Because of D’s extreme and outrageous conduct
Sufficient for intentional or reckless act (Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress)
D must have knowledge of P’s presence
Does the Transferred Intent Doctrine apply to IIED?
No
Trespass to Land Elements
- D’s intentional
- entry or interference with P’s exclusive possession
- of P’s land
- without P’s permission
Permission limits (Trespass to land)
Can be limited by time, area, and purpose–considered TTL as soon as permission expires
Is harm required for physical trespass in TTL?
No
Is harm required for non-physical trespass in TTL?
Yes
Nominal damages permitted for physical trespass? (TTL)
Yes
Are nominal damages permitted for non-physical trespass? (TTL) Give an example of non-physical trepass.
No, pesticide
Trespass to Chattel Elements
- D’s intentional
- intermeddling with P’s use or possession
- of P’s personal property
- that causes P some injury or damage
Intermeddling (Trepass to chattel)
- Dispossession OR
- Actual impairment of condition, quality, or value OR
- Deprivation of chattel’s use for substantial time
Trespass to Chattel Damages
- Actual/compensatory
2. Punitive
Conversion Elements
- D’s intentional
- EITHER
substantial interference with P’s ownership or use OR
unjustifiable and unwarranted dominion over P’s personal property - where injury to P results
Property (Conversion)
Typically physical with non-physical exceptions
Examples of non-physical property (Conversion)
- Literary property
- Scientific invention
- Trade secrets
If a seller sells converted property to a buyer, who is liable?
Both
What does P’s exclusive possessory interest in his land include?
- Surface
- Space upward within reasonable limits
- Space downward within reasonable limits
What does the law infer in physical trespass to land?
Some damage, if nothing more than treading down of the grass
Which intentional torts allow nominal damages?
- Assault
- Battery
- False imprisonment
- Trespass to land (physical only)
Which intentional torts never allow nominal damages/require actual damage?
- Trespass to chattel
- Conversion
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Which two types of damages are allowed for all intentional torts?
- Actual/compensatory
2. Punitive
How do you calculate actual damages for conversion?
Full market value of chattel at time of conversion
