Torts
Categories of Torts
Define Intentional Torts
wrongful acts done on purpose that cause harm to another
Systems of Law
Civil Law
Common Law
How many systems in the U.S.?
2
- Federal
- Operates under the US Constitution
Restatement Assault Rule
.He acts intending to cause a harmful
or offensive contact with the person of
the other or a third person, or an
imminent apprehension of such a
contact, and
2.The other is thereby put in such
imminent apprehension.
Define Battery
Definition of Intent:
Intent is acting with a desire to produce a result or knowledge that such a result is substantially certain to occur.
What is the supreme law of the land?
The United States Constitution
Intentional Torts examples (5)
Battery Assault
Trespass to Land False
Imprisonment
Conversion Intentional
Infliction of Emotional Distress
Purpose Intent
acting for the purpose of causing an imminent apprehension
of a harmful or offensive contact
Types of Contact
Indirect
Direct
Define Torts
A civil wrong, other than breach of contract, for which the law provides a remedy, usually in the from of damages.
OR
An act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability.
Types of Statutes
Statutes are codified law
• Enacted by the
Legislature
• There are federal
statutes and state
statutes
• Don’t forget: county, city,
& local ordinances, rules,
regulations, & codes
A harmful contact
is one which causes physical impairment, pain, or change.
Knowledge Intent
acting with a knowledge that an imminent apprehension of a
harmful or offensive contact i2s substantially certain to
Person of Another
another person
Define Transferred Intent
intent can be shifted from the intentional tort to the defendant tried to commit, to the intentional tort the defendant actually committed.
Stare Decisis
to stand by things decided
– to follow precedent
Transferred Intent Quesitons
Two Questions:
1) If contact had been made with the intended
object, would there have been a tort?
2) If the object with which contact was made had
been the intended targe, would there have
been a tort?
Imminent Apprehension
is an immediate fear or anticipation
- Mere words are assumed to not satisfy the
immanency requirement
- The person must reasonably believe the actor has an
apparent present ability to inflict the contact
- Apprehension (objective test: that aroused in the
mind of a reasonable person in similar situation
Negligence
A civil wrong caused by the defendant doing
something or failing to do something a
REASONABLE person would or would not do
Kumar v. Gate Gourmet rules
1. An offensive contact is one that offends a
reasonable sense of personal dignity and
does not have to result in physical injury.
2. One only needs to know to a substantial
certainty that their actions will result in a
harmful or offensive contact
Binding vs. Persuasive
Binding authority that must be followed
Persuasive – authority that a court may use but
is not obligated to follow
Cullison v. Medley Rules
An assault is being put in apprehension/fear of a battery.
“Any Act of such a nature as to excite an
apprehension of a battery may constitute an assault.”
In order to constitute an assault, the apprehension must
be one which would normally be aroused in the mind of
a reasonable person.
Brower v. Ackerley Rules
An actor is subject to liability
to another for assault if
(a) he acts intending to cause
a harmful or offensive contact
with the person of the other
or a third person, or an
imminent apprehension of
such contact
(b) the other is thereby put in
such imminent apprehension Mere words without more
are not enough to make an
actor liable for assault.