Torts Flashcards
False Imprisonment
- An act intending to confine someone within boundaries fixed by the actor
- Directly or indirectly resulting in such confinement; and
- The confined person is either conscious of the confinement or harmed by it
Shopkeeper’s Privilege
Defense to false imprisonment if:
- They have reasonable grounds to believe a theft has occurred;
- they hold P for a reasonable time to ascertain the facts; and
- in a reasonable manner
Defense of Crime Prevention
Private person may arrest someone if they have a reasonable belief that a crime has occurred that involves breach of the peace.
Negligence Elements
- Duty;
- Breach;
- Actual Cause;
- Proximate Cause;
- Harm.
Owner Duty to Invitee
Owner owes a duty if he:
- Knows, or by exercise of reasonable care, should have discovered the condition and should realize that it poses an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees;; and
- Should expect that the invitees will not discover or realize the danger, or will fail to protect themselves against it.
Negligence Per Se
- Statute or ordinance must be a criminal statute with clear and defined standards;
- Plaintiff must be a member of the class of persons intended to be protected by the statute; and
- claimed harm must be the type of harm intended to be protected against by the statute
Finding of negligence per se results in the conclusive presumption of breach and duty in a majority of states
Assumption of Risk
P denied recovery if he knows of the risk and voluntarily assumes it.
Vicarious Liability for Intentional Torts
Employers generally not liable for employee’s intentional tort because intentional tortious conduct is not within the scope of employment, UNLESS:
- Force is authorized in the employment;
- Friction is generated by the employment; or
- Employee is furthering the business of the employer
Vicarious Liability for Negligence
Employers are vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees, committed while employee is acting within the scope of their agency.
Liability for detours but not for frolic.
Vicarious Liability for Independent Contractors
Where:
- Independent Contractor engaged in inherently dangerous activities; or
- Duty is non-delegable (duty to keep premises safe or car in good condition)
Intentional Torts
- Assault
- Battery
- False Imprisonment
- Trespass to Chattels
- Conversion
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
- Abuse of Process
- Malicious Prosecution
Assault
- Volitional act;
- Done with intent to cause either harmful or offensive contact OR apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact;
- Causes reasonable apprehension of harmful or offensive contact
Battery
- Volitional act;
- Done with intent to cause either harmful or offensive contact OR an apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact that;
- Causes harmful or offensive contact;
- To the person of another
Trespass to Chattels
- An act which is an intermeddling or dispossession;
- Of the personal property;
- Of another;
- Which causes harm to, or the loss of use of the personal property
Conversion
- A serious interference which warrants that defendant pay the full value of the chattel (at time of conversion);
- of the personal property;
- of another;
- which causes harm to or the loss of use of the personal property
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
- Extreme and outrageous conduct that
- causes severe emotional distress
No requirement for actual or physical harm
Harm required for negligent infliction of emotional distress
Abuse of Process
- Use of legitimate process;
- for a wrongful purpose (harass, waste time);
- and an act or threat against the plaintiff to accomplish the wrongful purpose
Prohibits the use of any form of process to bring about a result other than that which the process was intended
Malicious Prosecution
- Initiation of civil or criminal proceedings against Plaintiff;
- Without probable cause;
- For wrongful purpose;
- And the favorable termination of the proceedings on the merits in favor of current plaintiff (original defendant)
Ordinary Duty
To act as an ordinary, prudent, reasonable person
Duty of Land Possessors to Persons Outside Their Premises
- No duty to protect someone from either natural or artificial condition of the land
- Artificial Conditions:
1. Duty to protect from unreasonable dangerous artificial conditions
2. Duty to take precautions to protect persons passing by from dangerous condition
Duty of Land Possesors to Persons on Premises
Duty to invitees (person on premises for purpose of owner/possessor),
Duty to licensees (on premises for own purpose), and
Duty to trespassers (on premises without consent).
Duty to Invitee
Duty to inspect, discover, repair, and protect against known or discoverable dangers.
Land possessor knows or should know of danger to invitee and should expect invitee will not discover or realize the danger
Duty to Licensee
Duty to repair and protect against known dangers
- Land possessor knows or has reason to know of condition which poses unreasonable risk of harm to licensee and should expect licensee will not discover the danger;
- possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to make condition safe or warn licensee;
- licensee did not know or have reason to know of the condition or risk involved
Duty to Trespassers
Duty for artificial dangerous conditions.
Known Trespassers - duty to warn of artificial, non-obvious dangerous conditions maintained by landowner
Unknown Trespassers - duty not to use willful and wanton conduct
Attractive Nuisance
- Landowner knows or should know of dangerous condition;
- Owner knows children are frequenting the area;
- Dangerous condition likely to cause harm or child is unlikely to appreciate the risk;
- expense of remedy is slight compared to level of risk
Firefighter’s Rule
Bars firefighters/police from recovering from injuries caused by risks of doing job
Common Carriers
Heightened duty of care but not strict liability
Rescuees
Duty to rescuers if need for rescue is due to rescuee’s own negligence