torts all

Tort Law

A civil wrongful where one person harms or offends another and the injured party sues

Substantive law

What the law says you can/cannot do. Torts equals this

Common Law

Law developed through judges court decisions over time

Private law

Governs disputes between private parties or organizations

Includes and gives one private party a legal claim against another party.

• Torts

• Contracts

• Property

• Unjust enrichment

Cause of action (a claim)

A basis upon which a p can sue

• Battery, negligence, false imprisonment, fraud, assault

Burden of proof

Who ever has to satisfy the elements/proving the main issue by a preponderance of evidence (more likely then not)

Affirmative defense

A legal reason the defendent should not be liable even if the p proves the basic claim. (Puts BOP on d)

Intentional tort

A tort where the d acts with the required intent to bring about a particular consequence, such as harmful, offensive contact or apprhension

Oblique tort

Protects the interests in things like reputation, privacy, or economic/transactional relationships ather than mainly protecting against physical injury. (Indirect/non physical)

• Defamation

• Privacy torts

Nominal damages

$1. Helps establish a legal right.

Example of nominal damages

Injunction in trespass of property to prevent future trespass

Intent

A D acts with purpose or substantial certainty the consequence will occur

Transferred intent

Intent required by one of intentional tort claim to be enough by showing d intended another intentional tort

Battery elements

1) voltional act

2) Intent with a substantial certainty or purpose of bringing an

3) harmful OR offensive

4) touch of contact to a P

battery: The touching/contact

• Particulate matter (clothes or things in your hand)

  • Blowing smoke in someone’s face repeatedly and on purpose

• Indirect or direct

• Offensive contact: offensive to a reasonable sense of personal dignity us offensive contact

Assault elements

1) an act

2) with an intention that on purpose or with substantial certainty would cause

3) apprhension of

4) harmful or offensive

5) touching of a plaintiff

Every battery includes…

Assault, but assault does not require battery

Assault: intent

• Must intend to create apprhension

• Transferred intent is relevant

If D intents to commit battery but misses when they try and hit them assault can be proven

Assault: immediate Apprehension

• Fear not required

• Must be immediate (p must be aware it’s occurring

• Typically a physical act

Assault: harmful or offensive touch

• Must be imminent

• “I’m gonna hit you” ✅

• “I’m gonna hit you next week.” ❎

• If something must occur first then not imminent (especially if it’s avoidable)

Offensive definition

Must intrude on reasonable sense of dignity

False Imprisonment: elements

1. voltional act

2. Intent with a purpose or substantial certainty

3. To confine plaintiff (threat must be imminent and physical)

4. And the p be aware of the confinement

Battery: Damages include

• Bodily injury is enough

  • Awards compensatory damages

• Injury is sufficient but not necessary for a PF case

  • No proof of physical harm — nominal damages can be awarded

    
    

False Imprisonment: Meaning of Confinement

• Some closed, bounded area (city, town, state) for an appreciable amount of time

• Freedom of movement must be bounded in all directions

• No minimum amount of time and no REASONABLE means of escape

False Imprisonment: Method of Confinement

• physical barriers

• Must be an imminent threat of force

• Improper assertion of legal authority/movement (“’m a police” “taking oldies cane”

• omission to release (finished sentence but not releasing)

False Imprisonment: Awareness

• must know you’re imprisoned or about to be imprisoned

• You feel your autonomy is taken away

  • EXCEPTION: If harm, then awareness not required

False Imprisonment: Defenses

• scope of privilege

  • legal

• Consent

  • riders on common carriers, schools, classes

IIED (Outrage): Elements

1) Act

2) Intentionally (SC or Purp) OR recklessly

3) By EXTREME and OUTRAGEOUS contduct (violation of special relationship, power imbalance)

4) inflicted severe emotional distress

Outrage: Intent

• intended harm

• Reckless (deliberate disregard of a high probability of causing p distress)

• non transferable

Outrage: Extremeness and Outrageousness (high bar)

• must Transend bounds of decency, regarded as atrocious and intolerable by a civilized people

• Situations

  • continued pattern of insults/demeaning behavior

  • when d is an innkeeper or common carrier

• Exception: can include p’s family or wife

Outrage: Extremeness and Outrageousness: 4 Common Factors

1) abusing one’s position over or power with respect to the p

2) taking advantage of a p who knows to particularly vulnerable

3) Repeating offensive conduct where P cannot reasonably leave

4) perpetrating or threatening violence against a person or property that’s important to P

Outrage: Severe Emotional Distrss

• most jurisdictions rely on how it came about

• medical testimony convincing but optional

• no severe distress —> no claim

• invective alone isn’t it unless you’re persistent

Eggshell plaintiff

• a p who literally is insanely breakable

• still on hook for hurting them even if it was unlikely — battery still can count

• and even if you didn’t mean to hurt them (intending to touch them is enough)

Trespass to Land: Elements

1) A volitional Act

2) Intent with purpose or substantial certainty

3) Caused an intrusion either by entry onto or failure to leave or remove from

4) the p’s real property (harm/damage unnecessary)

Trespass to Land: Real Property

• possessor required

• Land is broad — everything affixed to it

• P must show they own or possess property

• All the way to heavens to into the ground

• skimming but not touching still counts

• 
  

Trespass to Land: Intent

• must intent to effect entry or refusal to move

• substantial certainty to bring about some consequence

• to CAUSE the movement that intrudes

• mistake/accident doesn’t matter

• transferred intent applies

EXCEPTIONS

• pushed by someone (some other force caused)

• trying to not intrude

Trespass to Land: Entry

• made by d or can be liable for inducing a third party/object to enter (you caused the wind to throw a branch into a yard)

• Failure to leave or remove also counts as entry

• Accomplished by minute particles

• anything that exceeds scope of consent (going into more rooms, messing with fixtures)

Trespass to Land: Scope of Recovery

• no damage— nominal damages attainable

• damage — personal injury, property damage, mental distress (compensatory damages)