Intentional Torts to Person Flashcards
What is required to establish a prima facie case for an intentional tort?
(a) Act by D
(b) Intent by D
(c) D’s act caused result to P or was a substantial factor in causing the injury
Act: Volitional movement
Intent: Desire to bring about legally forbidden consequences that are the basis of the tort
* D doesn’t need to intend the specific injury that arises
* Ex. D locks P in room as prank and P gets bitten by poisonous spiders. D has requisite intent for false imprisonment bc he had intent to confine P; doesn’t matter he didn’t intend for P to get bitten.
When does transferred intent apply?
When D intends to commit tort against one person BUT:
(a) commits tort against a different person
(b) commits different tort against the original target
(c) commits different tort against different person
Intent to commit tort is transferred to tort actually committed/person actually injured
Intended tort/Resulting tort MUST be one of the following:
* Assault
* Battery
* False imprisonment
* Trespass to land
* Trespass to chattels
Can D raise incapacity defense for intentional torts?
No, because everyone’s capable of having “intent”
No defenses of infancy (young childnre), insanity, developmental disability, intoxication, etc.
* Aka young children and mentally incompetent are liable for intentional torts
What are the torts that can use transferred intent?
- Assault
- Battery
- False imprisonment
- Trespass to land
- Trespass to chattels
What is required to show battery?
(a) Harmful or offensive contact
(b) Contact is with plaintiff’s person (ex. hair, clothing, purse)
(c) Intent to cause contact
(d) Contact caused harm (causation)
Harmful: causes actual injury, pain, or disgurement
Offensive: a reasonable person would not permit the contact
* Consent is implied for ordinary everyday contacts (ex. bumping on crowded subway)
Contact can be delayed and indirect (ex. poison/setting trap) or direct (hitting P)
Plaintiff’s Person: includes anything connected to P (ex. clothing, purse, anything P is touching or holding)
What kind of damages can P recover for assault, battery, or false imprisonment?
- Actual damages
- If actual damages aren’t proven, nominal damages
- Punitive damages for malicious conduct
What are the elements of assault?
D’s act (not words) creates reasonable apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive contact to P’s person (battery)
Apprehension: P must have been aware of threat from D’s act (if P didn’t see D trying to hit him, not assault)
* Sufficient that D has apparent ability to commit battery (ex. no bullets in gun but P thinks there are when D points gun at him)
Act: Words alone are NOT enough - must be coupled with conduct.
* Words can negate reasonable apprehension (ex. D shakes fist at P but says he’s not going to hit P)
Immediate: threat must be immediate; can’t be threat to hit P tomorrow
What are the elements of false imprisonment?
(a) Act/omission by D that confines or restrains P (and P is aware of it/is harmed by it)
(b) P is confined to a bounded area
(c) D intended to confine/restrain P
Bounded Area: Freedom of movement limited in all directions; no reasonable means of escape known to P that’s not dangerous, disgusting, humiliating, or hidden
* Ex. False imprisonment if P’s only way to escape is through public area while naked (humiliation)
Ways that D can restrain P:
* Physical barriers
* Physical force directed against P, P’s immediate family, or personal property (ex. taking purse)
* Direct threats of force (“I’ll shoot you if you leave room”)
* Indirect or implied threats of force
* Failure to release P when under legal duty to do so (ex. leaving disabled man on airplane; taxi driver not letting customer out)
* Invalid use of legal authority (false arrest)
NOT:
* Moral pressure
* Future threats
What are the elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress?
(1) D’s act amounts to extreme and outrageous conduct
* Three primary categories
* Requires threat of physical injury, threat of property damage will not work
(2) D intends to commit act or D acts recklessly
(3) P suffers severe emotional distress (must prove damages)
Extreme and outrageous conduct: transcends all boundaries of decency tolerated in civilized society
Severe emotional distress: P must show evidence of this but not a particular type of evidence (ex. that P missed work, saw doctor, had physical symptoms, etc.)
* “Mildly annoyed” is not enough
Recklessness is only used for intentional infliction of emotional distress; NOT for other intentional torts
NOTE: Physical harm is only required for negligent infliction of emotional distress (not intentional)
What are the three primary categories of extreme and outrageous conduct?
- (a) Conduct is continuous (harassment)
- (b) Conduct is by certain type of defendant (common carriers/innkeepers)
- (c) Conduct is directed at a certain type of plaintiff (children, elderly, pregnant, supersensitive adults known by D to be supersensitive)
- Continuous: harassment, badgering, slander (ex. debt collection calls every night at 3 am)
- Type of D: Airplane, Amtrak, hotels (ex. airline employee refuses to check you in because you’re ugly)
- Type of P: D has prior knowledge of victim’s sensitivities and targets them (ex. puts snakes on desk of P, who’s deathly afraid of snakes)
What damages can P recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress?
P must prove actual damages (severe emotional distress), NOT nominal damages
* More outrageous the conduct, less proof of damages required
* Proof of physical injury usually not required
What is the one intentional tort that requires damages?
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
What are the elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress when D’s conduct is directed at a third party?
(Bystander cases)
(1) P was present when injury to third party occurred
(2) P is closely related to third person or P’s distress resulted in bodily harm
(4) P personally observed or perceived the event (by sight, hearing, or other senses)
As an alternative, P can show prima facie case of emotional distress
Duty to avoid negligent infliction of emotion distress is breached when D creates foreseeable risk of physical injury to P (or third person)
