Chapter 10

Assault

Threat of harm that causes reasonable fear in the victim.

Battery

Unwanted or offensive touching without consent.

Intentional Infliction of Mental Distress (IIMD)

Emotional harm caused by outrageous conduct.

Invasion of Privacy

Violation of personal privacy through unauthorized image use, intrusion, or exposure of private info.

False Imprisonment

Holding someone without legal justification or consent.

Malicious Prosecution

Filing a wrongful legal action without probable cause.

Trespass (Land)

Unauthorized entry onto someone’s land, including pollution or refusing to leave.

Trespass (Chattels)

Minor interference with another person’s personal property.

Conversion

Major interference with another’s property; essentially theft.

Defamation (Slander/Libel)

False, published statement that harms someone’s reputation.

Fraud

Lying to deceive someone, with intent, and causing harm because the victim relied on the lie.

Interference with Business Relations

Intentional action that damages another party’s business contracts or opportunities.

Mnemonic for Intentional Torts

"AB IF-TIMCD DFI" – Assault, Battery, IIMD, False Imprisonment, Trespass, Interference, Malicious Prosecution, Conversion, Defamation, Fraud, Invasion

Duty of Care

Legal obligation to avoid actions that could foreseeably harm others.

Breach of Duty

Failure to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances.

Causation in Fact

The defendant’s actions directly caused the plaintiff’s harm (“but for” test).

Injury

Actual harm suffered by the plaintiff.

Damages

Financial measure of harm caused by the defendant.

Professional Negligence (Malpractice)

Failure by a professional (doctor, lawyer, CPA) to meet their standard of care.

Willful and Wanton Negligence

Extreme, reckless conduct that borders on intentional harm (e.g., drunk driving).

Negligent Non-action

Failure to act when there's a duty to protect others (e.g., hotel fails to stop harassment).

Actual Cause

A direct connection between the act and the injury.

Proximate Cause

The harm was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s actions.

Intervening Cause

An unexpected event that breaks the chain of causation (e.g., thief steals car and crashes it).

Contributory Negligence

If plaintiff is partly at fault, they recover nothing (mostly outdated).

Comparative Fault

Plaintiff’s damages are reduced by their percentage of fault.

Assumption of Risk

Plaintiff knowingly took on the risk (e.g., hockey game, skydiving).

Strict Liability

Legal responsibility without needing to prove negligence or intent.

Strict Products Liability

Manufacturer or seller is liable for defective products regardless of fault.

Manufacturing Defect

Something went wrong during the production of the product.

Design Defect

Product is inherently unsafe due to its design.

Failure to Warn

Product lacked adequate warnings about known dangers.

Commercial Seller

Strict liability applies only to those who sell products professionally.

Ultrahazardous Activities

Activities so dangerous that liability applies no matter how careful you are (e.g., explosives, wild animals).

Dram Shop Acts

Bars or establishments can be liable for harm caused by intoxicated patrons.

Common Carriers

Transport companies are strictly liable for damaged goods unless there’s a valid exception (e.g., natural disaster).

Compensatory Damages

Reimbursement for medical bills, lost wages, and pain & suffering.

Punitive Damages

Extra financial punishment for willful, wanton, or intentional misconduct.

Exxon Valdez Case

Willful/wanton conduct → huge punitive damages.

Texaco vs. Pennzoil Case

Intentional interference with contract → $10B awarded.

Countrywide CEO Case

Fraud by executive → $67.5M in damages.

Giants Stadium Case

Overserved fan caused crash → $105M verdict.

Hilton/Tailhook Case

Failure to act on harassment → $6.7M in damages.

Wal-Mart Shotgun Sale Case

Breach of duty in selling firearm → $16M awarded.

EA Sports Case

Right of publicity violated through unauthorized use of likeness.

Epic v. Tata Case

Trade secret theft → nearly $1B awarded.

WSJ Defamation Case

No malice found → no liability for defamation.

Grokster Case

Inducement of copyright infringement → company held liable.