Intentional Torts

I. Requirements of Intentional Torts

  1. Act committed by Δ: Volitional act- conscious decision

  2. The Necessary Intent:

    • Δ Must have acted either

      • for the purpose of causing the outcome, OR

      • with substantial certainty (98%) that the outcome would result

    • Transferred Intent: if the underlying behavior of Δ constitutes a tort, then the intent can be transferred to another action that satisfies all elements except for intent

    • Ranson v. Kitner: mistake does not negate liability

  3. Causation: varies by tort


II. Battery

  1. Restatement: 

    • Battery occurs when an actor

(i) Intends to cause contact with another person, and 

(ii) The contact occurs. 

(iii) The resulting contact is harmful or offensive, and

(iv) The other person did not consent

  1. Single vs. Dual Intent

    • Single Intent (majority of jurisdictions): Δ intends the contact, though not necessarily for that contact to be harmful

    • Dual Intent (minority of jurisdictions): Δ intends for the contact to be harmful or offensive

  2. Offensive: To be considered offensive, a contact must either

    • Offend a reasonable sense of personal dignity, or

      • Brzoska v. Olson: reasonable standards are not necessarily the popular perspective

    • Offend the victim’s unusually sensitive sense of personal dignity, of which the actor is aware

  3. Contact

    • May exist where actor causes contact with objects that can be said to be extensions of the victim’s person- wearing, holding

      • Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel

    • Actor’s intentional act sets in motion the contact


III. Assault

  1. Restatement

  • Assault occurs when an actor

(i) intends 

  1. to cause a harmful or offensive contact OR

  2. to cause imminent apprehension of a harmful or offensive contact, AND

(ii) The other person is put in such imminent apprehension

  1. Standard for Apprehension: reasonable person would apprehend battery

  • even if the actual battery would not be possible (Western Union)

  • Contemporaneous awareness is required for assault

IV. False Imprisonment

  1. Restatement

  • False imprisonment occurs when an actor

(i) intends to confine π within boundaries fixed by the actor

(ii) confinement results

(iii) π is either aware of the confinement or harmed by it

  1. Standard of Confinement: would a reasonable person feel they were confined?

    • holding back personal property, physically blocking access, threats of violence

  • moral persuasion, threats of reputational harm

  1. Shopkeeper’s Privilege 

  • Statutes give privileges to shopkeepers detaining suspected shoplifters

(i) in a reasonable manner

(ii) with a reasonable belief, and

(iii) for a reasonable amount of time 

  • Without these statutes, shopkeepers must make a citizen’s arrest which requires personally witnessing a crime, and the citizen must be correct- not just reasonable belief


V. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

  1. Elements of IIED

    • IIED occurs when

(i) Δ Acted intentionally or recklessly

(ii) Δ’s conducts was extreme and outrageous

(iii) Δ’s conduct caused

(iv) extreme emotional distress

  1. Intent in IIED: Δ must act with either intent or recklessness

    • Intent: Δ has purpose of causing severe emotional distress or substantial certainty that severe emotional distress will result

    • Recklessness: Δ acts with deliberate disregard of a high probability that severe emotional distress will follow

  2. Extreme and Outrageos Conduct

    • the conduct of Δ must be utterly intolerable , beyond all bounds of civilized society

    • Courts often consider these factors:

      1. actor’s position of authority

      2. actor’s awareness of victim’s particular vulnerability

      3. repeated undesirable acts

      4. committing or threatening physical violence

  3. Causation:

    • but for the Δ’s behavior, the extreme emotional distress would not have occured

  4. Severe Emotional Distress: distress that no reasonable person should be expected to endure

  5. Transferred Intent: limited for IIED

    • Most courts limit to a narrow fact pattern:

      1. π is present during intentional tort

      2. π is a member of victim’s family

      3. π’s presence is known to Δ


VI. Trespass to Land

  1. Restatement

  • An actor is liable for trespass to land if the actor

(i) intentionally

(ii) enters land in possession of another or causes another thing or person to do so,

(iii) remains on the land after consent is revoked, OR

(iv) fails to remove a thing from the land that they are under duty to do so

  1. Intent to Trespass

    • Not necessary to know that the land is not public/not theirs

    • Actor must act with the purpose or substantial certainty that they or a thing will be where they are


VII. Trespass to Chattels and Conversion

  1. Trespass to Chattels 

    • Trespass to chattels occurs when an actor

(i) intentionally

(ii) interferes with the personal property of another

  1. Conversion

    • Conversion occurs when an actor

(i) intentionally

(ii) exercises control over the chattel of another which so seriously interferes that the actor may be justly liable for the full value of the chattel

  1. Factors determining the seriousness of the interference

  1. the extent or duration of the actor’s exercise of dominion

  2. actor’s intent to assert a right inconsistent with the owner’s right

  3. actor’s good faith

  4. extent and duration of the interference with the owner’s right to control

  5. harm done to chattel

  6. inconvenience and expense caused by the actor

  1. Intent

    • Mistake does not negate liability

    • Must only be a volitional act

  2. Damages

    • Trespass to Chattel- π gets the chattel returned and the cost of damages

    • Conversion- π may get either the chattel returned + cost of damages OR the full replacement value and then △ keeps the chattel