Torts!!! Flashcards
What is the intent requirement for intentional torts?
Acts with the purpose of causing the consequence, OR
Knows the consequence is SUBSTANTIALLY CERTAIN to follow
What is required to prove the tort of battery?
Causes a HARMFUL or OFFENSIVE
contact
with the person of another;
and acts with the INTENT to cause that contact or the apprehension of that contact
What does it mean, in a battery, for contact to be offensive?
Person of ordinary sensibilities would find contact offensive.
In a battery, does the victim need to be aware of the contact?
Nope! can be unconscious and still battery
Is it a battery if the contact is not objectively offensive, but the victim is hypersensitive?
Yes, IF the defendant knows that the victim is hypersensitive.
In a battery, what needs to be intended, specifically?
The contact, NOT the offense.
Does the doctrine of transferred intent apply to battery?
YES
What is required for punitive damages in a battery case?
Defendant to act, either:
OUTRAGEOUSLY, or
with MALICE
What is required to prove an assault?
Defendant does something that:
causes REASONABLE APPREHENSION
of an IMMINENT harmful/offensive bodily contact; and
INTENDS to cause such apprehension of contact or to cause the contact itself
What does it mean for an assault to cause apprehension of an IMMINENT contact?
Without SIGNIFICANT DELAY
What is required to prove intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)?
D intentionally or recklessly engaged in
EXTREME and OUTRAGEOUS conduct that causes P
severe emotional distress
For an IIED claim, what makes D’s conduct extreme and outrageous?
What will make a court more likely to find e+o conduct?
“exceeds possible limits of human decency, so as to be entirely intolerable in a civilized society.”
D is in position of AUTHORITY or INFLUENCE over P
P is member of group with HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITY (like kids or elderly)
When is a D liable for IIED to third parties?
Immediate family member: if present/perceives conduct, liable, regardless of injury
Bystander: if present/perceives and suffers bodily injury, liable
What is required for tort of false imprisonment?
D intends to CONFINE or RESTRAIN another within fixed boundaries
Actions directly OR indirectly result in confinement; and
P is CONSCIOUS of the confinement OR HARMED by it
What is the intent requirement for false imprisonment?
D acts with PURPOSE of confining P, OR
KNOWING that P’s confinement is SUBSTANTIALLY CERTAIN to result
Is consent by mistake a defense to intentional torts?
Yes, still a valid defense UNLESS D Caused mistake or
D knew of mistake and took advantage of it
Is fraudulent consent a defense against intentional tort claims?
No, consent by fraud is invalid IF it goes to an essential matter.
What is trespass to chattels?
Intentional interference
w/P’s right to possession of personal property by either:
1) dispossessing P of chattel; or
2) using/intermeddling with chattel, or
3) damaging chattel
What is conversion?
Intentionally
depriving P of possession of chattel or
interfering with P’s chattel in a manner so serious as to DEPRIVE him entirely of its use
Is mistake of law a defense to conversion? Mistake of fact?
Neither!
What’s the difference between trespass to chattels and conversion?
I.e., what factors do courts consider to tell the difference?
MORE EXTREME = MORE LIKELY CONVERSION
Duration/extent of interference
D’s intent to assert a right inconsistent with rightful possessor
D’s good faith
Expense or inconvenience to P
Extent of harm
What’s the difference between private necessity and public necessity as a defense to trespass?
What result for each?
Private: needed to trespass to prevent INJURY or HARM to self
Public: needed to trespass to protect a large number of people from public calamities (e.g., pool during a fire)
Different results: private = actual damages; public = no damages
What’s a private nuisance?
Activity that:
SUBSTANTIALLY and
UNREASONABLY
interferes with another’s
USE and ENJOYMENT of land
How do courts determine an interference is unreasonable in a private nuisance claim?
Balance interference with utility of nuisance