Torts Flashcards
Transferred Intent
Under the doctrine of transferred intent, a defendant’s intent to commit an assault (or battery or false imprisonment) against one person transfers to the defendant’s commission of that intended tort against a different person.
Res ipsa loquitur
Res ipsa loquitur permits an inference of negligence when the plaintiff’s harm was the type usually caused by negligence and evidence tends to eliminate other potential causes of that harm.
Intrusion upon seculsion
Intrusion upon seclusion (a type of invasion of privacy) occurs when the defendant intentionally intrudes on the plaintiff’s private affairs in a manner that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
Proving intentional infliction of emotional distress
For intentional infliction of emotional distress, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant intentionally or recklessly caused the plaintiff severe emotional distress by acting in an extreme and outrageous manner. The use of satire is unlikely to constitute extreme and outrageous behavior
Negligent infliction of emotional distress - Special situation
Negligent infliction of emotional distress occurs under the special-situations theory when the plaintiff suffers serious emotional distress because the defendant negligently (1) delivered an erroneous announcement of death or illness, (2) mishandled a loved one’s corpse or bodily remains, or (3) contaminated food with a repulsive foreign object.
Intentional Torts
- Battery
- Assault
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- False Imprisonment
Torts - IIED
D, by extreme and outrageous conduct, intentionally/recklessly causes P severe emotional distress.
Conduct which is beyond human decency, outrageous.
IIED - Public figures
Must show falsity and actual malice, private P cannot recover if issue was of public concern
Torts - False Imprisonment
D intends to confine another within a limited area, D’s conduct causes P’s confinement or D fails to release P from confinement despite duty to do so, and P is conscious of confinement
Torts - Harm to property
- Trespass to chattels
- Conversion
- Trespass to land
- Nuisance (public and private)
Torts - Strict Liability
- Dangerous activities
- Animals
- Defective/dangerous products
Torts - Special rules of liability (NIED_
- Zone of danger: P was within zone of danger (feared for safety) and threat of physical impact caused emotional distress. Under majority, emotional distress must be manifested by physical symptoms
- Bystander recovery - P outside zone of danger can recover if (i) closely related to person injured by D, (ii) present at the scene) and (iii) personally observed or perceived injury.
- Special relationship: Most common examples are mishandling of compose or common carrier mistakenly reporting death of relative - no physical impact or physical symptoms required.
Torts - Elements of strict products liability
- Product was defective
- Defect existed when it left D’s control
- Defect caused P’s injury when the product was used in a reasonably foreseeable way
Torts - Elements of defamation
Defamatory language, of or concerning P, which has been published (intentional or negligent communication to 3rd party who understands defamatory nature).
If statement relates to matter of public concern or P is public figure, need to prove defamatory statement is false. Prove P suing on statement that does not involve matter of public concern not required to prove falsity, but D can prove truth as affirmative defense
Tort - Defamation - Fault
If public figure, actual malice
If private figure or matter of public concern, need to show D acted with fault - either negligence or actual malice
If private figure, not matter of public concern, need at least negligence.
Tort - Invasion of privacy
- Intrusion upon seclusion - D’s intentional intrusion on P’s private affairs, highly offensive to reasonable person (no publication required)
- False light - publication of facts about P or attributing views to P that place him in false light objectionable to reasonable person under circumstances, must show actual malice
- Misappropriation - unauthorized used of P’s picture or name for D’s advantage
- Public disclosure of privacy facts
Tort - Intentional interference with business relations
- Intentional interference with contract
- Interference with prospective economic advantage (no contract)
- Theft of trade secreets
Tort - Intentional interference with business relations
- Intentional interference with contract
- Interference with prospective economic advantage (no contract)
- Theft of trade secrets
