Chapter 6: Intentional Torts

torts

• civil wrongs against persons or property

• injured party may file a civil suit for compensation

punitive damages

used to punish the defendant and deter them from repeating offensive behavior

intentional torts

where the wrongdoer consciously intended to cause harm, or at least where they knew that harm was substantially certain to result

preponderance of evidence

the plaintiff has the burden of proving that it is more likely than not that the defendant has violated some sort of civil law

battery

• harmful or offensive contact with people without their consent

• defendant does not actually need to touch the plaintiff (ex snatching someone’s bag off their shoulder or throwing an object that touches the plaintiff)

battery defense

consent must have been freely and intelligently given (tricky sometimes though (ex voluntary participation in a violent sport like boxing or football)

assault

• an intentional act that is intended to cause a person to have a reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact

• no actual physical contact or harm is necessary (mere words are not always enough though, sometimes a threatening gesture is required)

• threats of battery in the future or attempts at battery that the plaintiff is not aware of do not count as assault

false imprisonment

• the intentional confinement of a person for an appreciable time without the person’s consent

• occurs when escape is possible but involves an unreasonable risk of harm or affront to the person’s dignity

confinement

occurs when a person substantially restricts another person’s freedom of movement (partial obstruction ex locking front door but not the back does not count)

conditional privilege

gives people such as store owners the right to stop people for crimes such as shoplifting as long as the owner acts in a reasonable matter and detains the suspect for only a reasonable length of time

intentional infliction of emotional distress

• occurs when a person engages in outrageous conduct with the intent to cause another to suffer severe emotional distress

• some courts require a physical manifestation, but many have moved away from that and have granted damages for only mental distress

defamation

• injury to a person’s reputation that causes considerable anguish and harm

• publication of an untrue statement injuring their reputation or character (means communication of the statement to at least one other person then the defended party)

libel

written defamation (recorded in some permanent form)

slander

oral defamation

• considered less damaging, but damage is presumed if the nature of the defamatory statement is so serious that the law classifies it as slander per se (ex statements that a person committed a serious crime)

absolute privilege

• some statements communicated in some situations may never be a basis for a successful defamation suit (ex members of Congress on Congress the floor)

• the greater the necessity, the greater the privilege

actual malice

• the statement was made with knowledge of falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth

• public officials and public figures must prove this

defamation defense

the truth - if statement is true then the person who communicated it can not be held liable

invasion of privacy

1. intrusion - violation of a reasonable expectation of privacy

2. public disclosure of private facts

3. false light - mischaracterization of another

4. right of publicity aka commercial misappropriation

malicious presentation

gives a remedy for the financial, emotional, and reputational harm that can result when criminal proceedings are wrongfully brought

wrongful use of civil proceedings

compensates for similar damages arising from wrongfully brought civil suits

what plaintiff must show for both malicious presentation and wrongful use of civil proceedings

that the wrongfully brought suit terminated in his favor (suit was brought without probable cause to believe the suit was justified and that it was brought for an improper purpose)

abuse of process

requires proof that the suit was brought for a primary purpose other than the one for which such proceedings are designed (involves situations when the person bringing the suit is trying to force the defendant to take an action unrelated to the subject of the suit)

trespass to land

• any entry by a person onto the land in the possession of another is a trespass, unless the entry is done with the possessor’s permission or is privileged

• also applies to a person who remains on the land of another (ex tenant staying after the lease has expired) or who allows anything to remain on another’s property

trespass to personal property

• intentional interference with personal property in another’s possession is a trespass if it harms the property or deprives the possessor of its use for an appreciable time

• most courts have held that when no damage occurs, no trespass is found

conversion

• the unlawful taking of, or exercise of control over another person’s personal property

• the greater the interference and lack of good faith, the more likely the act will be considered conversion, for which the defendant must pay the reasonable value of the property

disparagement

• false statements about the quality of a seller’s product or services, or the seller’s ownership of goods offered for sale

• proof of actual damage (ex lost sales) is needed

interference with contract

• one who intentionally induces a person to breach a contract with another or who prevents performance of another’s contract may be liable in damages to the party deprived of the benefits of the contract

• seeks to protect the sanctity of private contractual relationships

interference with economic expectations

unreasonable interference with another’s business