Intentional Torts and Defenses

Question 1

Battery

Answer 1

1. Intentionally causing
2. Harmful or Offensive
3. Bodily contact with another person

Question 2

Intent for Battery

Answer 2

Single-intent approach: Intent to cause contact with a person

Dual-intent approach: Intent to cause harmful or offensive contact with a person

Question 3

Assault

Answer 3

1. Intentionally placing a person in
2. Reasonable apprehension of an
3. Imminent
4. Harmful or Offensive contact

Question 4

Apprehension (Assault)

Answer 4

Anticipationor perception of imminent hamrful/offensive conduct

Question 5

False Imprisonment

Answer 5

1. An Intentional
2. Act of restrain on another person causing that person’s
3. Confinement within a bounded area.

Question 6

Confinement

(false imprisonment)

Answer 6

physically restricting a person’s freedom of movement or threatening the use of imminent unlawful force, where there is no reasonable means of escape; the plaintiff must be aware of or harmed by the confinement.

Question 7

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Answer 7

1. Extreme and outrageous conduct that
2. Intentionally or recklessly causes a person to suffer
3. Severe emotional distress

Question 8

Extreme and Outrageous (IIED)

Answer 8

Utterly intolerable in a civilized community

Question 9

Severe Emotional Distress (IIED)

Answer 9

A medical diagnosis or physical manifestation is not required by can help prove the existence of severe distress.

Question 10

Trespass to Land

Answer 10

1. Intentionally entering or remaining on
2. Another person’s real property
3. Without permission (damage to land is not required and includes the space above/below the ground).

Question 11

Trespass to Chattels

Answer 11

1. An act that
2. Intentionally
3. Interferes with
4. Another’s personal property
   *Interference must cause dispossession of, cause harm to, or reduce the value of the chattel.

Question 12

Conversion

Answer 12

1. An act causing
2. Serious and substantial intereference with or destruction of
3. Another’s personal property
   *Substantial interference justifies the defendant pay the full value of the personal property.

Question 13

Transferred Intent

Answer 13

Allows (1) intent as to one tort to qualify as intent for another tort, and (2) intent as to one person to qualify as intent as to another person.

Applies to: Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment, Trespass to Land, and Trespass to Chattels

Question 14

Eggshell Skull

Answer 14

If a prima facie case is established, then the plaintiff will recover the full extent of damages, even if the plaintiff’s harm was unforeseeable.

Question 15

Types of Consent (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 15

Three types:
1. Actual willingness for the conduct to occur
2. Apparent consent, where a reasonable person would have believed the person consented; or
3. Implied consent as a matter of law or policy.

Question 16

Scope of Consent (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 16

If the defendant’s conduct exceeds the scope of consent, the defendant is liable for any additional harm caused.

Question 17

Invalid Consent

Answer 17

Consent is invalid due to infancy, intoxication, or mental illness, or if obtained by fraud/trickery; a person cannot consent to an illegal act.

Question 18

Self-Defense (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 18

Requires (1) the use of force to protect oneself from the (2) threat of imminent (3) unlawful force.

• Actor’s belief must be reasonable
• Retreat generally not necessary prior to using nondeadly for or deadly force
• Must be proportional to the unlawful force prevented (i.e., deadly force can only be used when deadly force is threatened)
• Self -defense is not available to the initial aggressor unless (1) the person communicates his withdrawal to the other person, or (2) the other person makes a suddent escalation of force

Question 19

Defense of Others (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 19

(1) use of force to protect another person from a (2) threat of (3) imminent unlawful force (the same rules for self-defense apply)

Question 20

Defense of Property (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 20

(1) use of force to prevent an (2) ongoing or imminent tort against the person’s property (the actor must request the other to desist unless the request appears dangerous or futile).

Force is not privileged if the other has a greater privilege to enter onto or interfere with the property (i.e., necessity or recapture of chattles)

Defense must be proportional to the unlawful force, but deadly force is never allowed to defend property.

Question 21

Necessity (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 21

Allows a person to interfere with the real or personal property interests of another when (1) such actions reasonably appear necessary to prevent an (2) imminent (3) substantially greater threat of harm from a natural force.

Question 22

Types of Necessity (defense to intentional torts)

Answer 22

Public Necessity: harm threatened to a large number of people of the public at large

Private Necessity: harm threatened the defendant herself or a limited number of people (the defendant is still liable for any actual damages caused by her actions).

Question 23

Discipline

Answer 23

Permits a (1) parent to (2) use reasonable force or confinement as reasonably appears (3) necessary for the discipline, control, or education of a child.

Question 24

Recapte of Chattels

Answer 24

(1) use of reasonable (2) nondeadly force to (3) regain possession of personal property that was (4) recently (in hot pursuit) (5) unlawfully taken

Question 25

Arrest

Answer 25

(1) a police office or private person can use force in effectuating an arrest of another person, provided the arrest was (2) proper and the (3) amount of force used was reasonable.

Question 26

Shopkeeper's Privilege

Answer 26

a shopkeeper can detain another if the shopkeeper has a (1) reasonable ground to believe that the (2) person recently engagined in shoplifting. Reasonableness: detention can only be for a reasonable amount of time and the confinement/force used must be reasonable.