Intentional Torts

What does tort law do?

Tort law provides a mechanism for individuals to seek compensation for harm or injury caused by the wrongful acts of others. It addresses civil wrongs, allowing victims to file lawsuits against those responsible.

What is battery?

where defendant intentionally doesn’t an act that results in harmful OR offensive touching without consent

What does harmful mean?

means that it produces any bodily injury 

What does offensive mean?

calculated to offend people of reasonable sense and is unwarranted by social time and place 

What does intentional mean?

Defendant desired to bring about consequences and acted recklessly OR believed harmful consequences were substantially certain to follow.

Is direct contact between plaintiff and defendant necessary?

No it can be an object, like throwing a hamburger at someone.

What happens if you make contact with something connected to plaintiff?

That is still battery, like if plaintiff was holding onto dogs’ leash and you hit the dog.

What is doctrine of transferred intent? and does is apply to battery?

The doctrine of transferred intent applies when a defendant intends to harm one person but unintentionally harms another. It extends liability for battery to the actual victim, even if the original intent was for a different target.

And yes does apply to battery.

Does plantiff need to be aware of the contact in order for battery to occur?

No, they could be asleep and someone touches you with a knife. The amount the jury awards plaintiff may be a diff question.

What are the 4 defenses to Battery?

1) consent to contact

2) self defense

4) defense of others

5) defense of property

Consent to contact

must be free and voluntary and can he shown through words acts and even inaction

Self Defense

used reasonably under the circumstances and cannot be excessively

Defense of others

as long as resonable, it can’t be protecting honor

Defense of property

Reasonable but can never use deadly force to protect only property

What is assault?

An intentional act that causes another person to fear imminent harmful or offensive contact, without consent.

Must cause fear or apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact

Does plaintiff need to be aware of the threat for assault to occur?

Yes, the plaintiff must be aware of the threat of imminent harmful or offensive contact for an assault to occur.

What doesn’t count as assault?

Threats of future harm

Whether or not contact actually happened

Threatening words

Defenses to assault?

Same as battery

What is defamation?

A tort designed to protect a persons reputation

What are 3 elements of defamation?

1) Published

2) a false AND defamatory statement 

3) about another person

What’s libel?

Written defamation that harms repuration, usally deemed more serious. 

What’s slander?

Oral defamation, requires proof of special damage,

Unless slander per se which means these are deemed to be so harmful they will presume plaintiff was injured. Like statements about AIDs or sexual misconduct when its not true.

What does publication mean?

only needs to be from one person to another and only saying the statement from plaintiff to defendant doesn’t count.

Self publication doctrine

Defendant can reasonably see that the defamed person may share that statement with a 3rd party

Can groups be defamed?

No, unless referred to one specific member.

What are defenses in defamation case?

1) Truth

2) Absolute privilege - during judicial proceedings

3) Conditional privilege - statements made in good faith regarding a matter of public interest

Can conditional privilege be abused?

Yes, if former employer starts saying defamatory statements not related to job performance.

What are the elements of Fraud?

1) false statement of fact

2) knowingly made by the defendant OR recklessly disregard the truth

3) Made with intent for plaintiff the rely on that statement

4) Plaintiffs’ reliance on statement is reasonable AND plaintiff was somehow injured/damaged

Can fraud occur through nondisclosure statement?

Yes

What are the 4 types of invasion of privacy torts?

1) Intrusion of Solitude

2) Publicity Concerning Private Facts

3) False Light

4) Appropriation of Name of Likeliness

intrusion of Solitude

Invasion of a person's private space or solitude, leading to a reasonable expectation of privacy being violated.

Ex. Open mail, tap phone 

Defense - intrusion not highly offensive and reasonable

Publicity Concerning Private Facts

Disclosing private information about a person that would be offensive to a reasonable person and is not of legitimate public concern.

Defense - the fact disclosed is a matter of public record or interest

False light

Invasion of a person's privacy by portraying them in a misleading context, which would be offensive to a reasonable person.

Publicity must be widespread

Defenses - truth is defense (free speech)

Appropriation of Name or Likeliness

Unauthorized use of an individual's name or likeness for commercial purposes, leading to a violation of their right of publicity.

What is false imprisonment?

The intentional confienment of another for an appreciable length of time (can be few minutes) without their consent

Defensenes to false imprisonment?

plaintiffs lack of knowledge or awareness of the confinement

Elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress?

1) defendants conduct must be so outrageous and regarded as a atrocious to a civilized society

2) plaintiffs’ emotional distress must be severe in order to recover money (intent can be direct or substantially certain it could happen)

What is trespass? and the elements?

offense against the right to possession of property

1) intentional and unlawful entry into property of another - like hiking, sending loud sound waves, hacking computer system.

2) Unlawfully remaining on another property

3) Unlawfully causing something to enter property line of another property OR failure to remove something from porperty which you have a duty to remove

(doesn’t need to be harm to the property for trespass to happen)

Defenses to trespassing?

Trespass was reasonable or showing the owner actually doesn’t open the land

(mistake of being on the land if usually not a defense)