Intentional Torts Flashcards by Justin Taylor

What are the seven Intentional Torts?

Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, IIED, Trespass to Land , Trespass to Chattel, Conversion

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What are the four Intentional Torts to Persons?

Assault, Battery, False Imprisonment, IIED

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What are the three Intentional Torts to Property?

Trespass to Land, Trespass to Chattel, Conversion

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With regard to intent, what is the difference between Intentional Torts to Persons and Intentional Torts to Property?

Intent for persons is a desire to cause the result (or knowledge with substantial certainty that the result will occur). Intent for property is a desire to do the act (or knowledge with substantial certainty that the act will occur).

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Assuming the requisite intent, are Minors, Insane persons and Intoxicated persons liable for their intentional torts?

Yes

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Mistaken persons are liable for their intentional torts because:

They are usually mistaken as to a non-essential element.

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What is the Transferred Intent doctrine?

The requisite intent can be transferred from one plaintiff to another and from one intentional tort to another.

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What five Torts qualify for Transferred Intent?

Tort intended and tort committed must be: 1) Assault 2) Battery 3) False Imprisonment 4)Trespass to Land 5) Trespass to Chattel

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What two Torts do not qualify for transferred intent?

1) IIED 2) Conversion

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Please insert the three variations to this sentence regarding transferred intent - “When a defendant intends to commit one tort but instead______…the intent will transfer.”

1) commits a different tort against the same person 2) commits the same tort against a different person 3) commits a different tort against a different person

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What causation is required for Intentional Torts?

Basic “but-for” actual cause

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What three Intentional Torts do not require actual damages?

Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment

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What is a Battery?

An act by defendant that intentionally causes a harmful or offensive contact with plaintiff’s person.

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What is Assault?

An act by defendant that intentional causes reasonable apprehension in plaintiff of immediately receiving a battery.

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What is False Imprisonment?

An act by defendant that intentionally causes the plaintiff to be confined to a bounded area.

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What is Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED)?

Extreme and outrageous conduct by defendant that intentionally (or recklessly) causes severe emotional distress in plaintiff.

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What is Trespass to Land?

An intentional act by defendant that causes a physical invasion of plaintiff’s land.

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What is Trespass to Chattel?

An intentional act by defendant that causes an interference with plaintiff’s possessory interest in chattel.

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What is Conversion?

An intentional act by defendant that causes an interference with plaintiff’s possessory interest in chattel so severe as to warrant a forced sale.

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For Battery, what must the defendant intend?

To cause a harmful or offensive contact with plaintiff’s person.

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For Battery, what constitutes a plaintiff’s person?

Plaintiff’s physical body, clothing, or anything closely connected to plaintiff.

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For Battery, what causation is required?

Actual cause

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For Battery, how is “harmful or offensive” judged?

Reasonable person standard

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For Assault, what must the defendant intend?

To cause apprehension

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For Assault, what causation is required?

Actual cause

For Assault, how is "reasonable apprehension" judged?

Reasonable person standard

Must the "apprehension" required for Assault be so severe as to create fear in plaintiff?

No, the plaintiff need only have the reasonable expectation that an immediate battery will occur. If fear is present, fear certainly constitutes apprehension.

For Assault, is an "apparent ability" to cause battery all that is required?

Yes

Are words alone sufficient for Assault?

For Assault, must words always be coupled with action?

Yes

For Assault, must the apprehension be of an immediate battery (not future)?

Only apprehension of an immediate battery, never a future battery, will suffice.

For False Imprisonment, what must the defendant intend?

To confine plaintiff to a bounded area

For False Imprisonment, what causation is required?

Actual cause

What are the five conditions that create "confinement"?

1) physical barriers 2) physical force 3) threats of force 4) failure to release 5) invalid use of legal authority

For False Imprisonment, what must the "time of confinement" equate to?

Only an appreciable time

For False Imprisonment, the plaintiff must be aware of the confinement unless:

The plaintiff is injured by the confinement

For False Imprisonment, is moral pressure and/or future threats sufficient?

For False Imprisonment, what two conditions create a "bounded area"?

1) Movement restrained in all directions, with 2) no reasonable means of escape

For IIED, what must the defendant intend?

To cause severe emotional distress

For IIED, if the defendant did not intend to cause severe emotional distress (but) was aware of the risk of severe emotional distress, is this sufficient?

Yes

For IIED, what causation is required?

Actual cause

For IIED, what "conduct" is required?

Extreme and outrageous conduct. Conduct that transcends all bounds of decency.

For IIED, conduct that is short of "extreme and outrageous" may still be sufficient under what three conditions?

1) it is continuous in nature 2) it is directed toward a particular type plaintiff, or 3) it is committed by a particular type of defendant

For IIED, what particular type of plaintiff may be especially susceptible to IIED (and) protected when conduct is "short" of extreme and outrageous?

Children, elderly persons, pregnant women, and those with supersensitivities (if supersensitivity is known to defendant).

For IIED, what type of defendant is held to a higher standard of care so that, even if conduct is "short" of extreme and outrageous, the plaintiff may be protected?

Common Carriers and Inn Keepers

Does IIED require actual damages?

Yes

Are nominal damages sufficient for IIED?

No. Nominal damages are not sufficient for IIED.

Under Third Party IIED, what three elements are necessary?

1) Plaintiff and victim must be closely related 2) plaintiff must be present at the scene, and 3) defendant knows both (1) and (2)

For Trespass to Land, what must the defendant intend?

The act that causes entry to land

For Trespass to Land, what causation is required?

Actual cause

For Trespass to Land, what three conditions may constitute a "physical invasion"?

1) Direct invasion by defendant 2) Indirect invasion by defendant 3) failure to leave or remove

For Trespass to Land, "land" would include what space?

All reasonably usable space, including air space and underground space.

For Trespass to Land, is ownership is required?

No, only Right to Possession

For Trespass to Land, are damages inferred?

Yes

For Trespass to Land, are all other provable damages recoverable?

Yes

For Trespass to Chattel, what must the defendant intend?

The act that causes interference with plaintiffs possessory interest in chattel

For Trespass to Chattel, what causation is required?

Actual cause

For Trespass to Chattel, what two conditions constitute "interference"?

1) Intermeddling (damage to chattel) 2) Dispossession

For Trespass to Chattel, is ownership of chattel required?

No, only Right to Possession

For Trespass to Chattel, what is "Chattel"?

All tangible property (or intangible property reduced to tangible form).

Are damages inferred in Trespass to Chattel?

Must actual damages be proven in Trespass to Chattel?

Yes

Within Trespass to Chattel, will loss of possession be considered actual harm?

Yes

For Conversion, what must the defendant intend?

The act that causes interference with plaintiffs possessory interest in chattel

For Conversion, what causation is required?

Actual cause

For Conversion, what two conditions constitute "severe interference"?

1) Destruction (or severe damage or material alteration to chattel) 2) Dispossession

For Conversion, what four elements constitute "dispossession"?

Wrongful 1) acquisition 2) detention 3) misuse, or 4) transfer

For Conversion, is ownership of chattel required?

No, only Right to Possession

What two remedies are available under Conversion?

1) Damages (fair market value at the time of conversion) 2) Return of chattel by replevin (unlike other forms of legal recovery, replevin seeks the return of the actual thing itself, as opposed to money damages).

What are the nine defenses to intentional torts?

1) Consent 2) Self-Defense 3) Defense of Others 4) Defense of Property 5) Recovery of Property 6) Shopkeepers Privilege 7) Authority of Law (privilege of arrest) 8) Necessity 9) Discipline

What are the two types of Consent?

Express and Implied

What are the two types of implied consent?

1) Implied-in-fact 2) Implied-in-Law

What is Implied-in-fact consent?

When a reasonable person would have inferred consent from custom and usage or from plaintiff's conduct

What is Implied-in-law consent?

Action necessary to save plaintiff's life

What are the five conditions necessary to constitute implied-in-law consent?

1) Plaintiff is injured, unconscious or unable to grant consent 2) there is no close relative to give consent for plaintiff 3) an immediate decision is necessary 4) there is no reason why plaintiff would not have given consent 5) a reasonable person in plaintiffs position would have given consent

For Consent, must a plaintiff possess the capacity to consent?

Yes

What three groups do not possess the capacity to consent?

1) Mentally incompetents 2) intoxicated persons 3) very young children

Consent by fraud or duress is:

Invalid consent

Can one consent to a serious crime?

Will the defendant be liable if consent was given but the defendant exceeds the scope of that consent (or does something substantially different)?

Yes

What is Self-Defense?

When a defendant (reasonably) believes that a tort is about to happen to his person, he may use reasonable force to prevent such harm.

Under Self-Defense, "reasonable belief" can also be stated as:

Apparent necessity

Is reasonable mistake allowed within Self-Defense?

Yes

Is retaliation ever allowed within Self-Defense?

Is there a duty to retreat under Self-Defense?

If Self-Defense available to the initial aggressor?

How much force is allowed under Self-Defense?

Reasonably necessary force to prevent harm

Is there liability for accidental injuries to third parties under Self-Defense?

What is Defense of Others?

When a defendant (reasonably) believes that a tort is about to happen to an innocent third party, he may use reasonable force to prevent such harm.

Under Defense of Others, "reasonable belief" can also be stated as:

Apparent necessity

Is reasonable mistake allowed within Defense of Others?

Yes

How much force is allowed under Defense of Others?

Reasonably necessary force to prevent harm

What is Defense of Property?

When a defendant (reasonably) believes that a tort is about to happen to his property, he may use reasonable force to prevent such harm

Is deadly force ever allowed to protect property?

Under Defense of Property, must a request to desist precede any use of force?

Yes

Within Recovery of Property, is a timely demand required?

Yes

Can property only be recovered from the wrongdoer?

Yes

What are the the three conditions around Entry on Land to Remove Chattel?

Entry 1) on wrongdoers land 2) on land of innocent party 3) on land through owners fault

Under Entry on Land to Remove Chattel - On Wrongdoer's Property, the owner is privileged to enter the land and reclaim the chattel at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, after first making:

A demand for the return of the chattel

Under Entry on Land to Remove Chattel - On Land of Innocent Party - the owner is privileged to enter the land and reclaim the chattel at a reasonable time and in a peaceful manner, when the land owner has:

Been given notice of the presence of the chattel and refuses to return it. (Owner will be liable for any actual damage caused by entry).

Under Entry on Land to Remove Chattel - On Land Through Owner's Fault - there is no privilege to enter the land (and) the owner may recover the chattel only:

Through the legal process.

What force may be used to recapture chattel?

Reasonable force but not force sufficient to cause serious bodily harm or death.

What are the five conditions that give rise to the Shopkeeper's Privilege?

When there is 1) Reasonable belief a theft has occurred 2) Reasonable belief that the person detained committed the theft 3) reasonable force was used to detain the person 4) detainment was for a reasonable time, and 5) a reasonable investigation was conducted

Under Shopkeeper's Privilege, does "reasonable force to detain" ever include deadly force?

Under Shopkeeper's Privilege, what constitutes a reasonable time of detainment?

15-20 minutes, 30 minutes at most

What is the "balance test" as it pertains to Necessity?

Balance the reasonably anticipated harm with the actual harm

What are the two types of Necessity?

Public and Private

What is Public Necessity?

Where the act is for the public good

Under Public Necessity, is the actor liable for any injury he causes?

What is Private Necessity?

Where the act is for the benefit of individual persons (or their property) from destruction or serious injury

Within Private Necessity, the actor is privileged (but) must the actor still pay for any injury he causes?

Yes

What three conditions exist under Authority of Law - Privilege of Arrest?

1) Arrest with warrant by police officer 2) Arrest without warrant 3) Past felony

Under Arrest with Warrant by Police Officer, what three elements (as they relate to the warrant) must be present?

1) Warrant must be valid 2) person arrested must be named on warrant 3) proper procedure must be used in the arrest

Under Arrest Without Warrant, if there is a current felony or breach of peace, a police officer or private citizen may make a warrantless arrest if the current felony or breach of peace is being committed in his presence or:

He reasonably believes it is about to occur in his presence.

Under Past Felony - Police Officer, a police officer may make a warrantless arrest if he reasonably believes that a felony was committed (and) he reasonable believes that the person he's arresting:

Committed the felony

Under Past Felony - Private Citizen, a private citizen can only arrest if the felony has (in fact) been committed and he has reasonable belief that the person he's arresting :

Committed the felony

Under Discipline, a parent or teacher may use reasonable force in:

Disciplining children