Trespass Against The Person

Question 0

Letang v Cooper

Answer 0

Where physical harm is caused by unintentional means the only cause of action lies in negligence, not trespass to the person.

Question 1

Fowler v Lanning

Answer 1

In cases of unintentional trespass to the person the onus of proof is on C to prove that D was negligent or else his claim will disclose no cause of action.

Question 2

Collins v Wilcock (2 precedents)

Answer 2

1. The definition of battery includes a general exception embracing all physical contact regarded as generally acceptable in the ordinary conduct of daily life.
2. If a police officer is not exercising his powers of arrest the lawfulness of his conduct towards another is judged by general normative standards.

Question 3

Wilson v Pringle

Answer 3

Battery requires an intentional and hostile touching, where hostility is a question off act and must be proved by C if it is not overt in the immediate act of touching.

Question 4

Ashley v CC of Sussex

Answer 4

1. In civil proceedings the burden of establishing self-defence lies on D and it is to be established by reference to his subjective state of mind.
2. It is not an abuse of procedure to allow a civil trial of assault and battery where D has been acquitted of the relevant criminal offence because different standards of proof apply.

Question 5

Blake v Galloway

Answer 5

Where participants are engaging in an activity involving physical contact in which little skill or care is expected of them, it will take recklessness or a high degree of carelessness to establish a breach of duty.

Question 6

Wainwright v Home Office

Answer 6

1. Mere distress and humiliation is not normally a head of damage recoverable in negligence, but it is recoverable in torts actionable per se.
2. Torts of intentional harm require that D at minimum knows his conduct was unjustifiable and be reckless as to causing C harm.

Question 7

Bird v Jones

Answer 7

Imprisonment requires a total restraint of the liberty of a person (however brief) and not merely a partial obstruction of the will.

Question 9

Robinson v Balmain Ferry Co Ltd

Answer 9

Owners of premises are entitled to impose a reasonable condition before allowing others to leave those premises.

Question 9

Iqbal v Prison Officers Association

Answer 9

False imprisonment will require a positive act by D unless D has a positive obligation in law to act to release C, in which case D may commit the tort by omitting to do so.

Question 11

Iqbal v Prison Officers Association (Contrast)

Answer 11

False imprisonment will require a positive act by D unless D has a positive obligation in law to act to release C, in which case D may commit the tort by omitting to do so (as in ex p Evans)

Question 12

O’ Brien v Cunard SS Co

Answer 12

There is no battery if D reasonably believes C consents

Question 13

Airedale NHS Trust v Bland

Answer 13

An adult of full understanding has an absolute common law right to the inviolability of his body

Question 14

Define false imprisonment

Answer 14

The infliction of bodily restraint which is not legally authorised (whether express or implied) and to which C does not consent

Question 15

Murray v MoD

Answer 15

C need not know he is being detained but if he does not he will only receive nominal damages

Question 16

Austin v Dowling

Answer 16

If D acted through an intermediary with no independent discretion he may be liable for C’s false imprisonment but not if the discretion of a 3rd party was interposed between D’s act and C’s detention

Question 17

How may D justify an arrest of C?

Answer 17

The burden of proof lies on D.

(i) if C has been convicted of an imprisonable offence S.329, CJA 2003 applies
(ii) if not, C must show he had reasonable grounds of suspicion that D was about to commit an offence (Hogg v Ward)

Question 18

Wilkinson v Downton

Answer 18

Where “D has willfully done an act calculated to cause physical harm to C…and has in fact thereby caused physical harm to her” a cause of action is thereby disclosed if there is no justification alleged for the act”

Question 19

What conduct constitutes harassment?

Answer 19

It must be oppressive and unacceptable rather than merely unreasonable (Majrowski) and must cause distress rather than mere annoyance (Oxford v Broughton)