Torts Flashcards
Battery
To establish battery, plaintiff must establish that:
D intended to cause contact with P’s person,
his **affirmative conduct ** causes such contact, and
the condact causes bodily harm or is offensive to P.
Offensive conduct
A reasonable person would be offended or D knows that the contact would by highly offensive to the specific plaintiff
Assault
To establish assault, a plaintiff needs to establish that the defendant intended to cause P to anticipate imminent and harmful contact, and D’s affirmative conduct causes P to anticipate such contact.
The plaintiff must be aware
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
To prove IEED, the P needs to show that D acted with extreme or outrageous conduct, intentionally or recklessly, and caused P severe emotional distress.
Extreme and outrageous conduct
conduct that is beyond human decency, truly outrageous
False Imprisonment
to establish false imprisonment, the plaintiff needs to show that D intended to confine P within a limited area, D’s conduct causes P’s confinement or fails to relase P, and P is conscious of the confinement.
Consent
Full defense
Actual, Apparent,Presumed, Emergency
Self Defense
must reasonably believe the force is necessary and proportionate to force P is inflicting
No duty to retreat, but if P withdraws, D must stop
Initial agressors not generally entitled to claim self-defense unless P escalates from nondeadly to deadly
Bystanders: not liable for injuries to bystanders, can use force against bystander as long as P is using greater force and it is immediatley necessary
Defense of Third persons
reasonable belief that defended party would be entitled to use force themselves
immediatley necessary
Defense of property
D is privileged to prevent P’s imminent intrusion if D asked P to stop and means are reasonably proportionate
No deadly force allowed
no force allowed to reclaim property, must use legal action, **fresh pursuit **exception for personal property
Discipline of minor child
parents can use reasonable force and confinement, so can educators
Protect another from self harm
can use force if:
D reasonbly believes it necessary to prevent death/serious bodily harm and
that person does not understand the nature/consequences of their actions
Citizens arrest
felony: okay if crime was actually committed and reasonable to suspect the person
misdemeanor: only if committed in presence of arresting party
Assisting police: okay if citizen reasonably believes the police need help
Against Intervenor: okay to use force against someone intervening/aiding an arrestee to escape
Force by law enforcement
privileged to use force to arrest, investigate/prevent crime, enforce the law as long as they are on duty
Use of force in any arrest
only can use force if reasonably necessary and proportionate, for a legitimate purpose in the context of arrest, and the intent to arrest is communicated (unless useless)
Merchant’s privelege
Seller of goods privileged to use force for investigating potential theft, recapturing personal property, or faciliatating arrest if:
Merchant** reasonably beleives** the other has stolen goods and the use of force is on or immediately near the merchant’s premises, reasonable, and of reasonable duration.
Trespass to chattels
Tresspass to chattels is the intentional interference with the tangible personal property of another by using, intermeddling, or taking possession.
Mistake of law or fact is not a defense
Damages: actual damages or loss of use, compensation for cost of repair
Conversion
Conversion is an intentional act depriving P of personal property (more serious than tresspass to chattels)
Mistake is not a defense
damages: full value of property
Trespass to Land
intentional act causing physical entry onto the land of another
Necessity as defense to tresspass
private: qualified privilege to enter or remain on lant to protect self or property from harm, not liable for the trespass itself, but liable for any damages
public: unqualified privilege to avert imminent public disaster
Nuisance
Private: interference is nontrespassory, unreasonable, intentional, and substantial
Public: unreasonble interference witha right common to general public, but P suffers harm different in kind from the public
Transferred intent
different person: when D intends to commit barrery, assault, or false imprisonment against one person, but does it to another
different tort: when D intends to commit battery and instead does assault or vice versa
Does not apply to transfer intent from personal injury tort to property tort, or IIED
Negligence
Negligence requires Duty, Breach, Causation, Damages
Duty
One has a duty to prevent foreseeable risks of harm to foreseeable plaintiffs
Majority view: liable only to those within the forseeable zone of harm
Minority: liable to anyone injured from a breach of duty
Standard of Care
Must act as a reasonably prudent person in the same situation
child: must act as a reasonable child of the same age, intelligence or experience unless high risk adult activity
Common carriers
highest duty of care consistent with practical operation of the business
Sellers of property
duty to disclose known, latent, unreasonably dangerous conditions