Intentional Torts
Name all the Intentional Torts (6)
Inentional Torts to Persons
Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment, IIED,
Intentional Torts to Property
Trespass to Land, Conversion, and Trespass to Chattel
The defense of Self-Defense or Defense of Others requires the defendant to establish that:
(1) they used force or the threat of force to protect themselves or a third party from an actual or what they reasonably believed to be an immediate threat of harm or offensive contact; and (2) the amount of force used was reasonable
What is Negligence Per Se rule?
a person is negligent if (1) the person violates a statute, (2) without excuse, (3) and the statute is designed to protect against the type of accident the person’s conduct causes, and (4) the victim is within the class of persons the statute is designed to protect
What is defamation?
protects the plaintiff’s interest in his or her reputation. It is intended to protect plaintiffs from false statements about him or her.
Which of the following is the more serious tort?
Trespass to Chattel,Conversion, or Trespass to Land
Conversion! The third element emphasizes this:
(3) represented a serious interference with the plaintiff’s ownership rights such that the defendant should be required to pay the plaintiff the full value of the chattel.
True or false? Concerning battery, the plaintiff need not be aware of the physical contact, whereas awareness is required for assault
True! The plaintiff must be aware in order to sue for assault (their back is turned? No apprehension of an imminent contact = no case) Meanwhile, battery doesn't require the victim to know of the contact
True or false? Mistake is not a defense or excue in majority of torts
True! Mistake is not a defense in torts such as but not limited to trespass to land and battery
True or false? There is no duty to rescue. If you're seeing someone drowning in the lake, that's tough but you don't have to save them
(unfortunately) True! There is no duty to rescue others. The exception is if there is a special relationship (usually close family). So if it's your brother drowning, you have the duty.
No special relationship? Here are other exceptions:
Defendant created peril (you pushed them into the lake? You now have a duty)
Voluntary rescue doctrine (you started to help but want to stop? Too bad, you have to continue)
These exceptions create the special relationship needed to implement the duty to rescue on the defendant
What is the difference between slander and libel?
Slander = defamatory oral utterance, speech
Libel = more permanent expression (printed matter, drawing, films, TV, and artwork)
Define Trespass to Land and its elements
Protects the possessor’s right of exclusion
Elements: the defendant’s (1) intentional; (2) act of entry (physical invasion) upon (3) the plaintiff’s land
Regarding False Imprisonment, what classifies as confinement?
Physical barriers, threats of force, failing to release P after duty to release arises, or the invalid assertion of legal authority
Compare Actual Consent vs Apparent Consent
Actual Consent means that the party was actually willing with the contact/conduct.
Apparent Consent states that a reasonable person is led to believe the plaintiff consents to the defendant’s conduct, even if they do not actually consent
Define Res Ipsa and describe when it applies
Allows the plaintiff to prevail in proving negligence even if they cannot identify the specific act (or failure to act) that created an unreasonable risk of injury
Applies when:
The type of accident (or an injury of this nature) would usually only occur as a result of
The defendant had exclusive control over the instrumentalities of the injury (/it was probably the defendant who did it)
Defamation elements
(1) a defamatory statement of fact
(2) concerning the plaintiff
(3) publication; and
(4) damages
(5) Public official: actual malice needed
Reagrding the elements of Trespass to Land, define Act of Entry (Physical Invasion)
(1) physically entering the plaintiff’s land; (2) causing a thing or third person to enter the plaintiff’s land; (3) remaining on the plaintiff’s land in the face of a duty to exit; or (4) failing to remove a *thing from the plaintiff’s land that the defendant has a duty to remove
IIED is defined as intentionally or recklessly acting in a way that is extreme and outrageous, causing someone severe emotional distress. Define severe emotional distress
Plaintiff need not prove injury, but distress must be severe (greater than the reasonable person would expect to endure). Must be substantial/long-lasting, not trivial/transitory. Can be supported by therapists and close family testimony
Example 1: Someone called you stupid 10 years ago? Likely will not succeed
Example 2: A Lawyer forces a client into a relationship in exchange for legal representation; the lawyer is consistently verbally abusive to the client for the 3 years of this relationship. Likely will succeed
Discuss withdrawl of consent
In general, consent may be withdrawn
Withdrawal requires some expressed manifestation of withdrawal by the plaintiff
What is considered not an excuse regarding Negligence Per Se?
(1) The person believes that the requirement set by the statute is excessive or unwise; (2) the person is unaware or ignorant of the statutory requirement; or (3) there is a custom to depart from the statutory requirement.
True or false? Defamation is a strict liability tort; no showing of fault is necessary.
True! Remember, strict liability gives no weight to fault in determining liability and simply determines whether the defendant’s conduct caused the injury
What does Trespass to Land not extend to?
Does not extend to noise, vibrations (even if they are so intense as to cause structural damage), or even airborne fumes, which simply become part of the ambient circumstances of space
A stranger targets the plaintiff in an underground cell. The plaintiff learns that the only means of escape is to crawl through a sewer pipe. Is the stranger liable for false imprisonment?
Yes. This event meets the requirements of False Imprisonment. Additionally, even though the plaintiff knew about a means of escape (crawling through a sewer pipe), this conduct is not reasonable to the average plaintiff (though it may be reasonable for John Wick!).
To be legally effective, consent must be “Knowing and Voluntary” and Plaintiff must have Capacity to Consent. Define "Knowing and Voluntary" + what shows lack of capacity
“Knowing”: This means the plaintiff must have some level of awareness or knowledge of what it is they consented to (think of it as requiring “informed consent”)
“Voluntary”: Consent is invalid if it is obtained through coercion (duress), including threats of physical force or the assertion of legal/higher authority
Lack of Capacity: Legally-effective consent will not be found if a plaintiff lacks the capacity to consent. For instance, because of
(1) infancy (a minor), (2) mental capacity, or (3) intoxication
*what the person is consenting to matters
What is the difference between an intervening cause vs a superseding cause?
Intervening cause: An event (including an action of the plaintiff, an action of a third party, or a natural force) that occurs after the defendant’s wrongful act and that (along with the defendant’s act) is a “but for” cause of the plaintiff’s harm.
Example: Medical malpractice, negligent resuce, or subsequent diseases/accidents
Superseding cause: an intervening cause that was (1) so “highly improbable” and “extraordinary” (2) as to bear no reasonable connection to the harm threatened by the defendant’s wrongful act
Example: A lion escaped the zoo and bit off the plaintiff's arm, or a sinkhole forms underneath where the plaintiff is currently located.
What are the four categories of Slander Per Se?
Statement calling into question a plaintiff’s professional competence in his or her trade or profession
Statements that the plaintiff has a “loathsome disease” (such as syphilis)
Statements that the plaintiff engaged in serious criminal behavior, typically showing moral turpitude
Statements indicating serious sexual misconduct
What are necessities? Name the two types as well
Necessity privileges suspends the owner’s usual property rights
Public necessity: a person has the privilege to invade the property interests of another if it is or reasonably appears necessary to prevent serious harm to a significant amount of people
Private necessity: a person has the privilege to invade the property interests of another if it is or reasonably appears necessary to prevent serious harm to the defendant or a third person (or a handful of people)