Intentional Torts

Question 1

Battery Elements

Answer 1

1. Defendant acted
2. Act was intentional, or the defendant was substantially certain consequence would occur
3. Act caused contact with plaintiff or something physically connected (not too attenuated) to plaintiff’s body
4. Contact was harmful or offensive to plaintiff

Question 2

Assault Elements

Answer 2

1. Defendant acted
2. Act was intentional (with purpose or substantial certainty)
3. Act caused plaintiff to have reasonable apprehension of
4. An imminent harmful or offensive contact

Question 3

False Imprisonment Elements

Answer 3

1. Defendant acted
2. With intent
3. To confine, or instigate the confinement of, the plaintiff
4. Within a bounded area established by the defendant
5. Against plaintiff’s will, and
6. (In some jurisdictions) Plaintiff is aware of confinement or is injured by it

Question 4

IIED Elements

Answer 4

1. Defendant acted in extreme and outrageous way
2. With either the intent to cause severe distress or with reckless disregard with the emotional harm caused to the plaintiff, and
3. Plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress due to defendant’s conduct

Question 5

Trespass Elements

Answer 5

1. Defendant had the intent to enter (had the purpose or substantial certainty), or cause tangible entry onto
2. Property in the possession of the plaintiff
3. Defendant did enter, or cause something tangible to enter, onto the property

Question 6

Private Nuisance Elements

Answer 6

1. Defendant’s non-trespassory activity
2. Unreasonably invaded property
3. Possessed by plaintiff
4. Causing significant harm to plaintiff in the use or enjoyment of the property

Question 7

Trespass to Chattels Elements

Answer 7

1. Defendant intended
2. To interfere with the plaintiff’s personal property
3. And did interfere with it
4. Causing actual harm to the property

Question 8

Conversion Elements

Answer 8

1. Defendant intended (had purpose or substantial certainty)
2. To exercise substantial control over plaintiff’s tangible personal property
3. Defendant did exercise substantial control

Question 9

Battery - intentional

Answer 9

• acted with purpose to cause contact; subjective standard

- doesn’t matter that didn’t believe it wouldn’t happen

Question 10

Battery - substantially certain

Answer 10

• objectively reasonable person would have very likely known contact would occur

Question 11

Battery - single v. dual intent

Answer 11

• single = intended to cause the contact

- dual = also intended contact to be harmful and offensive (“should have known” objective standard)

Question 12

Battery - Transferred intent

Answer 12

• not about specific contact
• about intent to cause harmful or offensive contact at all
• responsible for all consequences from transferred intent
• scope of liability; can’t be responsible for super attenuated consequences

Question 13

Battery - Contact - Harmful

Answer 13

• R2T § 15 “any physical impairment of the condition of another’s body, or physical pain or illness” OR
• unwanted = no consent, implied or explicit
• LIMITED BY SOCIAL CONVENTIONS; COMMON SENSE
• Kadens doesn’t like intangible (see: Eichenwald v. Rivello)

Question 14

Battery - Contact - Offensive

Answer 14

• R2T § 19 contact that “offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity”
• objective standard; reasonable person in victim’s position
• Subjective exception - defendant knows plaintiff would find contact offensive

Question 15

Assault - Act - “Mere Words”

Answer 15

• words can constitute an act if put in context with other acts or circumstances
• together they put other in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact

Question 16

Assault - Reasonable Apprehension

Answer 16

• apprehension = somehow perceived imminent harmful or offensive act
• reasonable = subjective/objective
  + s = prove he or she was personally aware
  + o = any reasonable person would have anticipated act

Question 17

Assault - Imminent

Answer 17

• without delay
• not instantaneous
• about to act in harmful or offensive matter

Question 18

Tort-to-tort Transfer

Answer 18

intent to commit tort may transfer to another tort

Question 19

False Imprisonment - Intent

Answer 19

• desire/purpose to confine OR

- substantially certain confinement will result from actions

Question 20

False Imprisonment - Confinement

Answer 20

• length of confinement can be very short
• no privilege to confine
• can confine by holding property plaintiff can’t leave without (doesn’t count if person leaves)
• threat must be immediate

Question 21

False Imprisonment - Threat Exception

Answer 21

Fojtik v. Charter Medical Corp - determining whether threats count as confinement, relative size, age, experience, sex taken into account **

Question 22

False Imprisonment - Bounded Area

Answer 22

• locked door, force, coercion, limited freedom of movement, etc.
• held with hands

Question 23

False Imprisonment - Against Plaintiff’s Will

Answer 23

No consent

Question 24

False Imprisonment - Shopkeeper’s Privilege

Answer 24

• detention by store of possible shoplifters
• special privilege (common law and some state statutes) IF
  + based on good faith
  + not overly long
  + suspicions justified

Question 25

False Imprisonment - False Arrest

Answer 25

• false imprisonment occurring under color of privilege

- situation where officer is acting improperly

Question 26

IIED - Extreme and Outrageous

Answer 26

• “go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community”
• Outrageous = average member of community would exclaim “outrageous!”
• Extreme = unusual
• *

Question 27

IIED - Intent/Substantial Certainty

Answer 27

• intent = purpose or desire to accomplish harm or if such harm was substantially certain to occur as a result
• substantial certainty = would have realized harm if stopped to think about it

Question 28

Nuisance - Unreasonably invaded property

Answer 28

• location, location, location

- if no invasion, can still be nuisance if significant harm to use and enjoyment

Question 29

Nuisance - Significant harm

Answer 29

• reasonableness standard to measure significance/substantiality of harm
  + reasonable person = person in community
• location, location, location

Question 30

Nuisance - Bases of liability

Answer 30

• intentional
• negligence
• strict liability

Question 31

Nuisance - Defense

Answer 31

• Coming to the nuisance (balancing test)

Question 32

Trespass to Chattels - Interference

Answer 32

• dispossessing plaintiff of property, using, meddling with property
• impairing condition
• bodily harm is caused to possessor

Question 33

Conversion - Substantial Control

Answer 33

• Must be more substantial than trespass to chattels
• Purchase
• Treats the trespasser into involuntary purchaser

Question 34

Conversion - Entrustment

Answer 34

Buyer can’t be liable if bought “converted” property from someone else without knowledge

Question 35

Fraud - Elements

Answer 35

• Defendant made a false representation
• That was material
• Defendant made the representation either knowing it was false, or with reckless disregard to its truth or falsity
• Defendant intended plaintiff to rely on representation
• Plaintiff did rely on representation
• Plaintiff’s reliance was justifiable
• Plaintiff suffered monetary damage as a result of that reliance

Question 36

Fraud - False Representation

Answer 36

• words or conduct asserting existence of fact

- express or through implication

Question 37

Fraud - Material

Answer 37

• important part of decision in transaction OR if maker knew or should have known specific listener considered representation important
• can’t be trivial

Question 38

Fraud - Knowledge

Answer 38

• Scienter = knowledge of untruth

- Don’t need to intend to cause harm

Question 39

Fraud - Justifiable

Answer 39

UNJUSTIFIABLE

• Matter misrepresented is not material
• Defendant giving opinion on matter about which he did not know truth with certainty and does not represent what he knows the truth
• “puffing”
• Plaintiff knew truth
• So obviously false that reasonable person would not believe it (subjective)