Intentional Torts Flashcards
General Requirements for Torts
- An Act
- Intent AND
- Causation
Children and Mentally Incompetent and Intent
Both Children and Mentally Incompetent can be held liable for intentional torts if they act with the requisite intent.
Doctrine of Transferred Intent
When someone has intent to commit an intentional tort, but it also satisfies the intent of a tort that they end up committing.
- Can apply when it happens to different person other than the intended target.
- When person meets requirement of one tort and it satisfies another (Meant to hit you, but doesn’t connect. Intent can be satisfied for assault even though battery was intended.)
Tort of Battery
Occurs when the Defendant:
(1) Causes harmful or offensive contact with the person of another AND
(2) Acts with the intent to cause that contact or the apprehension of that contact
“Harmful or Offensive” Contact: Person of normal sensibilities would find contact offensive OR contact causes injury, illness, pain.
Contact does not need to be direct contact. (Pulling chair out from another, for instance)
Contact could be anything connected to the person of another (Knocking book out of someone’s hand)
Plaintiff need not be aware of contact (person asleep or passed out)
INTENT Requirement: The intent is to the contact NOT that the contact be offensive or harmful.
Doctrine of Transferred Intent Applies
- Plaintiff can recover nominal damages, damages resulting from injury, or punitive if defendant acted with malice or outrageously and jurisdiction allows.
Consent Defense and Battery
Rule: Battery cannot occur if there is express or implied consent.
Tort of Assault
Occurs when the Defendant:
(1) Causes reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive bodily contact AND
(2) The defendant intends to cause this apprehension
Bodily contact is NOT required.
- Rule: Plaintiff must be aware of defendant’s actions.
- Rule: Generally, mere words not likely to meet “imminent” unless facts show otherwise
- Rule: Imminent means without significant delay
- Intent: Can prove through either (1) causing apprehension of imminent harmful/offensive contact OR
- The intent to make contact
Damages: No proof of damages is required. Same as Battery.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Definition: Defendant (1) intentionally or recklessly engages (2) in extreme and outrageous conduct (3) that causes the plaintiff severe emotional distress.
Intent: Intentional or Reckless
Extreme and Outrageous Conduct: Conduct that exceeds the possible limits of human decency so as to be “entirely intolerable” in a civilized society
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Public Figures
Rule: Public figures and public officials cannot recover for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress unless they can prove the words contained (1) a false statement that was made with (2) actual malice.
Actual Malice: Statement made with knowledge that is was false or reckless disregard for potential falsity.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and Third Parties
Occurs when the emotional distress is directed to target victim, but a third party also (or instead of) suffers severe emotional distress.
Apply Doctrine of Transferred Intent WHEN
(1) Immediate Family Member of the intended target if present when infliction occurred and witnessed conduct (no bodily injury required)
(2) Bystander if present at time of the conduct, witnessed the conduct, and suffered a distress that caused bodily injury
Damages and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Burden: Plaintiff must prove severe emotional distress beyond what a reasonable person should endure.
IF the plaintiff experiences an unreasonable amount of emotional distress due to hypersensitivity, then can only recover if the defendant knew of the hypersensitivity.
Tort of False Imprisonment
Three Elements:
(1) Defendant intends to confine or restrain another within fixed boundaries;
(2) The actions directly or indirectly result in confinement; AND
(3) The plaintiff is conscious of the confinement OR harmed by it.
Confinement: Need not be stationary. Need not be small area.
Confinement (How): By force, threat, invalid invocation of legal authority, duress, or refusal to provide safe means of escape if duty-bound to do so.
Intent: Purpose or Knowledge
Damages: Nominal or Actual Damages
The Shopkeeper’s Privilege
This is an exception to the Tort of False Imprisonment
Rule: A shopkeeper can, for a reasonable amount of time and in a reasonable manner, detain a suspected shoplifter.
Defenses to Intentional Torts Involving Personal Injury
- Consent
- Self-Defense
- Defense of Others
- Defense of Property
- Parental Discipline
- Privilege to Arrest
Defense of Consent
- Express Consent: Express consent if given by plaintiff
- Defendant’s conduct is within scope of consent
- Consent by mistake is valid defense unless defendant caused/knew of mistake.
- Consent by fraud is a valid defense so long as it does not go to an essential term
- Implied Consent: Plaintiff is silent and their silence and continued participation can reasonably be construed as consent.
- Ex: Emergencies
Capacity: Capacity can undermine this defense.
Defense of Self-Defense
- Self-defense must be “reasonable force” to defend against the offensive contact/bodily harm. Think proportionate.
- Duty to Retreat is no longer required in most jurisdictions.
- Self-defense is not viable if party claiming it is the initial aggressor (unless the other party responded to non-deadly force with deadly force, thus escalating the conflict.)
- Person acting in self-defense is not liable to bystanders so long as the injury was accidental and actor was not negligent
