Torts - Black Letter Law Flashcards
Intent
Intentional acts are done for the purpose of causing or with knowledge with a reasonable certainty that it will cause the result producing the injury.
Transferred Intent
A defendant who intentionally acts to cause any tort injury to anyone is liable for every injury suffered, even if the victim or injury differs from that intended.
Assault
Assault is an intentional act causing a reasonable apprehension of harmful or offensive contact.
Battery
Battery is the intentional infliction of harmful or offensive bodily contact.
False Imprisonment
False imprisonment is the intentional confinement or restraint of a person to a bounded area by threats, by assertion of legal authority, or by actual physical restraints.
Defense of Shopkeeper’s privilege
A shopkeeper may detain a suspect in a reasonable manner for a reasonable time to investigate the ownership of property when the shopkeeper has a reasonable belief that there has been a theft.
Trespass to property
Trespass to land is intentional act causing invasion or entry onto p’s land, without permission
Trespass to Chattel
Trespass to chattel is an intentional, unauthorized interference with the chattel of another causing damage.
Conversion
Conversion is a substantial interference with the personal property of another causing deprivation of possession. The remedy and measure of damages for conversion is a forced sale.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
IIED is the intentional or reckless infliction of severe emotional or mental distress by extreme and outrageous conduct.
Defense - Consent
Consent is a defense to intentional torts where it is informed, voluntary and given with legal capacity.
Self-Defense
A person may use reasonable force to prevent threatened harmful or offensive bodily conduct, including deadly force, if threatened with death or serious bodily harm.
Defense of Others
A person may use reasonable force to protect the safety of others.
Defense of Property
A person may use reasonable force to protect his own property or the property of another, but deadly force cannot be used.
Recapture of Chattel
A person may enter a wrongdoer’s land to recover chattel and may use reasonable force, but deadly force is not permitted. A person may enter the land of a third party to recover chattel at a reasonable time and peaceful manner.
Privilege of Arrest
Proper execution of a valid warrant is a defense against intentional torts. Reasonable force may be used for such arrest.
Defense - Necessity
A person has a privilege to harm the property of another where necessary to prevent great harm to third persons or to defendant himself. Private necessity requires that compensation be paid for actual damage to property. Public necessity does not.
Defamation
Defamation is a false statement of material fact of or about the plaintiff published to another party causing damage to plaintiff’s reputation.
Defamatory Statement
Oral defamation is slander. Slander per se includes: morally reprehensible criminal behavior, loathsome disease, inability to conduct business or professional activities, sexual misconduct.
Libel is written or printed defamation.
Of or concerning the Plaintiff
Publication
Publication occurs when the defamatory statement is seen or heard by someone other than the plaintiff.
Damages
Damages for defamation include injury to reputation and are presumed if the defamation involves libel or slander per se; otherwise special damages are required.
Defamation=> Private Figure in a Private Matter
A private figure in a private matter must show at least negligence on the part of the defendant.
Defamation => Public Official or Public Figure
Under New York Times v. Sullivan, a plaintiff who is a public official or public figure must prove actual malice and falsity. A public figure is one who injects himself into the public arena.
Defamation=> Private figure in a matter of public concern
Under Gertz, a private figure in a matter of public concern must show at least negligence, but must show actual malice if seeking punitive damages.
Defamation => Actual Malice
Actual malice means that the statements were made with knowledge or reckless disregard of their truth or falsity.
Defense to Defamation => Truth
The truth of a statement is a defense to a claim of defamation.
Defense to Defamation => Consent
Consent is a defense to intentional torts where it is informed, voluntary and given with legal capacity.
Defense to Defamation => Absolute Privilege
There is an absolute privilege to make statements in legislative, judicial or government proceedings, and between husband and wife.
Defense to Defamation => Qualified Privilege
There is a qualified privilege for statements made without malice relevant to public proceedings, or to the public interest, or to the interest of the recipient or to the interest of the speaker.
Invasion of Privacy => Public Disclosure of Private Facts
Invasion of privacy based on public disclosure of private facts is the unreasonable disclosure of private facts about a person that a reasonable person would highly offensive.
Invasion of Privacy => Intrusion upon seclusion
Invasion of privacy based on intrusion upon seclusion is an unreasonable intrusion upon a person’s peace and solitude by improper means that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
Invasion of Privacy => False Light
Publicity or the publication of facts about a person placing the person in a false light that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
Invasion of Privacy => Appropriation of Name and Likeness
The unauthorized use of the name or likeness of another, without consent, in a manner that implied endorsement of a product or cause.
Negligence
Negligence is the failure to exercise the degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would use in the same situation. To prevail, a plaintiff must show duty, breach of duty, causation (actual and proximate cause) and damages suffered by plaintiff, and that there are no defenses.
DUTY
A defendant owes a duty of reasonable of care to foreseeable plaintiffs to act as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. [Under the Cardozo majority view, plaintiff is owed a duty if she is in the zone of danger. Under the Andrews minority view, plaintiff is owed a duty if she is a foreseeable plaintiff.
Duty => disabled person
The duty of a person with a disability is what a reasonable person of a like disability would do.
Duty=> person in an emergency
The duty of a person in an emergency is what a reasonable person under similar emergency circumstances would do.
Duty=> duty of a child
The duty of a child is to act as a child of like age and experience, but a child engaged in a dangerous adult activity normally pursued by adults is held to the duty of an adult. [As applicable: ] Children under four are not capable of negligence.
Duty=> Evidence of custom
Evidence of custom in the industry is admissible to show the duty of reasonable care by is not conclusive.
Duty=> Special Relationship
Special relationships may create a duty [parent/child, teacher/student, carrier/passenger, hotel/guest].
Duty => Common Carriers
Common carriers and innkeepers are liable for even slight negligence to passengers or guests.
Duty => Professional
A professional is held to a higher standard of care to act as a reasonably prudent professional in good standing in the profession, traditionally in the community in which they practice, and modernly, to a national standard.
Duty of Landowners/Occupiers => Undiscovered Trespasser
If the plaintiff is an undiscovered trespasser there is NO duty, therefore, there is no standard of care.
Duty of Landowners/Occupiers => Known or Anticipated Trespasser
An owner/occupier of land is liable for an Artificial Condition involving a risk of Serious Injury the owner/occupier knows of. The duty of an owner/occupier is to MAKE SAFE or WARN of any known artificial dangerous conditions that are not obvious.