MCQs
A woman suffered from delusions which rendered her insane. Despite suffering from a mental illness, she was able to engage in some daily activities and enjoyed riding a bicycle around the neighborhood. During one such ride, she experienced a delusion that distracted her and caused her to slam into a pedestrian. The pedestrian suffered a broken arm, which also affected his livelihood, and he sued the woman for the intentional tort of battery, defined as an intentional, nonconsensual contact with the plaintiff or his effects, which contact caused harm to the plaintiff.
On the issue of the requisite state of mind to establish battery, which party will prevail?
The woman, because she did not intend to hit the pedestrian.
False imprisonment requires intent to confine and this result.
What is actual confinement and awareness or harm?
This doctrine allows a person to use force when facing a threat that is ___ and the response is ___.
What is "imminent and reasonable (necessary) force"?
Defense of others is allowed only when the person you're protecting would have this.
What is a "right to use force (privilege)"?
Consent can be invalidated when the misrepresentation concerns the intrinsic nature and quality of the harm, rather than collateral facts.
What is fraud?
As a part of a fraternity prank, a fraternity member grabbed a fraternity pledge, forced him into a closet, and locked the closet door. The fraternity member only intended to hold the pledge against his will for about an hour. He did not intend for the pledge to sustain any injuries, although he recognized that the pledge might sustain a few bruises if he tried to force the door open by banging on it or throwing his weight against it. The pledge did briefly bang on the door and try to force the door open, and he pleaded to be released. Unbeknownst to the fraternity member, the pledge suffered from claustrophobia. While in the closet, he had a panic attack, passed out, and hit his head, sustaining a severe concussion. He also experienced post-traumatic stress following the incident. The pledge filed a lawsuit against the fraternity member based on the intentional tort of false imprisonment.
Assuming the fraternity pledge can prevail on the merits of his case against the fraternity member, for which injuries, if any, is the fraternity pledge likely to recover damages?
For the bruises, the concussion, and the post-traumatic stress.
The P must be either harmed or ___ of the confinement.
What is aware?
When may deadly force be used in self-defense?
What is "when facing deadly force and there is no safe way to escape"?
This privilege allows a person to use force to protect another from attack.
What is "defense of others"?
One consents to the acts of another, or to the ___________ of those acts, if one is __________ willing for that conduct or those consequences to occur
What is "consequences" and "subjectively"?
A shopper and her friend visited a jewelry store. A particular necklace caught the shopper’s attention, and the store owner told her that it was 14 karat solid gold, even though he knew that it was not. The shopper liked the necklace but decided not to purchase it immediately. Later that day, the friend returned to the store and purchased the necklace, intending to give it to the shopper as a birthday present. Based on the store owner’s earlier statement to the shopper, the friend believed that she was buying a 14-karat-gold necklace. At home, the friend showed the necklace to her roommate, who told her that the necklace was not real gold. Intentional misrepresentation is an intentional tort that occurs when a defendant makes a statement that he knows is false with an intent to deceive the plaintiff, and the plaintiff reasonably relies on such false statement to his detriment.
Who would be able to prove the mental element of intentional misrepresentation in any lawsuit against the store owner?
Both the shopper and the friend.
Confinement requires that the person has no ___ means of escape and can recover as long as the danger outweighs the escape method.
What is reasonable?
In some jurisdictions, you must flee before using deadly force. This is known as...
What is the "duty to retreat"?
A person using defense of others must only use this amount of force.
What is "the amount of force the person being attacked would be privileged to use"?
When the plaintiff objectively intends not to consent to something but their conduct shows that they do, is consent present?
What is yes?
While hiking in the woods, a hiker saw an acquaintance a little way down the trail. The hiker was very afraid of all snakes, and the acquaintance knew about the hiker’s fear. Wishing to scare him, the acquaintance told the hiker that a small rope in her hand was a snake that she had just found and said she was going to toss it to the hiker. The hiker could only vaguely see something in the acquaintance's hand and became very apprehensive that he was about to be hit by a snake. The hiker started freaking out and shouting for the acquaintance to stop. The acquaintance then swung her hand back like she was going to throw the object in it at the hiker, but she then broke down laughing instead of throwing anything. Although the hiker was never hit by anything, he suffered emotional distress.
If the hiker sues the acquaintance for assault, is it likely that the hiker can establish all the elements of an assault claim?
Yes, because the combination of the acquaintance's words and hand action made it reasonable for the hiker to believe a battery was about to occur.
Sleeping, Distracted, Infants
What is not a False Imprisonment UNLESS harmed?
True or False? If the threat of danger is over, you can still use self-defense.
What is false?
If a bystander uses force to protect someone not privileged to use self-defense (e.g., the aggressor), their defense fails under this rule.
What is the "step into the shoes of the rescuee" rule?
A defendant is reasonable to assume consent when a plaintiff's voluntary conduct or words show consent
What is implied consent?
A patient went to a dermatologist to correct acne scarring. During the procedure, while the patient was sedated, the dermatologist decided to remove a large and rather ugly mole from the patient’s face without asking the patient if she wanted the mole removed. The dermatologist assumed that the patient would be pleased, and a reasonable person would have been happy to have the mole removed. However it turned out that the patient liked the mole and, when she recovered from the sedation, she was unhappy to find that the dermatologist had removed it.
If the patient wishes to sue the dermatologist for battery, is she likely to prevail?
Yes, because the dermatologist exceeded the scope of the patient’s consent.
Can get out easily/reasonably and must not suffer an indignity to leave
What is exit?
This type of mistake is allowed in self-defense cases, as seen in Courvoisier v. Raymond.
What is a "reasonable mistake"?
This standard is used to determine whether the intervener’s belief about the need for force was justified.
What is the "reasonable person standard"?
This type of ineffective consent arises when a person feels compelled to act because of a threat they reasonably believe is imminent.
What is duress?