Torts Final Flashcards
Battery Rule
Battery occurs when an actor intends to make a harmful or offensive contact and the harmful or offensive contact occurs.
Battery Intent
Single Intent: The intent required for battery is the intent to cause a contact with the person of another. The actor need not intend to cause harm or offense to the other.
Dual Intent: ○ Intend contact AND intend contact to be harmful/offensive
Transferred Intent: ○ If A intends to hit B, but A unintentionally hits C, then A is liable to C as the intent to hit B transfers
○ Policy – requisite intent to contact one person, still liable for contact to another
Battery Conduct
any voluntary act that leads to contact with a person, or to an object that closely identifies with that person (can be direct or indirect)
Battery Result
Offensive or harmful contact to that or a third person, or to an object that closely identifies with that person. Harmful contact = causes actual pain, injury or disfigurement. Offensive Contact = contact that would be considered offensive by a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities
Battery Defenses
Defense of Property, Consent, Privilege, Spirit of Pleasantry
Assault Rule
assault occurs when the actor intends to cause harmful or offensive contact OR an imminent apprehension of such a contact AND the person is put in such imminent apprehension
Assault is designed to protect
● Your peace of mind and your anticipation of force against you
● Protects you so you have emotional wellbeing
Assault Intent
is acting with the purpose of producing the consequence or knowing that the consequence is substantially certain to result
Intent to cause imminent apprehension (intent to make P anticipate the contact) OR intent to cause harmful or offensive contact (intent to inflict an actual battery)
TRANSFERRED INTENT
Assault Conduct
an offer or attempt (attempt to strike- could miss) to make contact
Assault Result
imminent apprehension of harmful or offensive contact
False Imprisonment Rule
actor intends to confine another in an enclosed space, resulting in total involuntary confinement of another & the other is aware of confinement
False Imprisonment Intent
Intent to Confine
False Imprisonment Conduct
The act that directly or indirectly leads to a total confinement
● Even if there is a means of escape, if that means is unreasonable it is confinement (injury to yourself, or others, or harm your dignity)
False Imprisonment Result
total and involuntary confinement, and the person is aware of that confinement
False Imprisonment Defense
● they had a reasonable escape, shopkeepers privilege, consent, defense of property
● The larger it gets the more likely it gets that the court says you have freedom of movement
● Larceny/Shopkeeper’s Privilege: If authorized merchant detains suspect in a reasonable manner, for a reasonable length of time, and under reasonable grounds AND IS CORRECT
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Rule
there is IIED when the actor by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe and emotional distress to another
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Intent
intentionally or recklessly causes emotional distress to a person or knows with substantial certainty that emotional distress will occur
● Transferred intent- has to be a family member, and that family member has to be there to witness it- extremely limited
● Reckless- blatant/deliberate disregard to high risk of injury
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Result
the plaintiff has to suffer severe emotional distress, and if bodily harm results you can recover for that as well
● Very narrow; difficult to prove - many courts have implied that medical testimony is necessary except in the most egregious cases
Trespass to Land Rule
The actor intends to enter or cause an object to enter another’s land without permission, resulting in the unauthorized entry of the other’s land.
Trespass to Land Intent
intent to act (do the thing that makes you end up in that location; ex. step onto land), not necessarily knowing that it is someone’s land in particular
You only have to intend to enter the piece of property you in fact enter, do not have to have intent to trespass
Very low level of intent needed- only need intent to want to be at the place you end up being
STRICT LIABILITY TORT- even without purpose, if your intent to take the step that puts you on the property, that satisfies the intent element necessary
TRANSFERRED INTENT
Trespass to Land Conduct
Any voluntary act which causes the actor to unlawfully enter another’s land.
A voluntary act interfering with another’s property rights
Trespass to Land Result
unauthorized entry onto another’s land
Trespass to Chattels Rule
The actor intends to physically interfere with, dispossess, or destroy another’s chattel, such interference, dispossession, or destruction occurs, and the other is deprived of the use of his chattel.
Trespass to Chattels Intent
an actor must intend to interfere with, dispossess, or destroy another’s chattel, with a purpose of causing trespass or with substantial certainty that a trespass will result