Intentional Torts Outline

Intentional Torts: Interference with Person and Property

1. Battery

Battery: Harmful Contact

1. An actor is subject to liability to another for battery if:

1. 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, and

2. A harmful contact with the person of the other directly or indirectly results

Battery: Offensive Contact

An actor is subject to liability to another for battery if:

1. He acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact of the other or a third person, or an imminent apprehension of such contact, and

2. An offensive contact with the person of the other directly or indirectly results

An act which is not done intentionally does not make the actor liable to the other for a mere offensive contact.

NOTES:

INTENT W/O CONTACT IS NOT A BATTERY

A BATTERY CAN BE FOUND WITHOUT CONTACT TO THE BODY, BUT WHERE THERE IS SUCH AS AN INTENTIONAL GRABBING OF AN ITEM FROM ONES HAND, AS IT IS CLEARLY AN OFFENSIVE INVASION OF THE PERSON (snatching a plate from a persons hand)

It is not necessary the actual body be disturbed but that something connected to the body is enough to be regarded as part of the body be disturbed to create an offensive act.

2. Assault

An actor is liable to another for assault if:

1. he acts intending to a cause a harmful or offensive contact with 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

Notes:

The apprehension must be at the time of the incident, not after the fact.

“Threats” in the future or “conditional threats” are not usually held as assaults, though some are actionable.

Need the apparent ability to actually do the action to be liable.

3. False Imprisonment

An actor is liable for the tort of false imprisonment when he intends to confine another within fixed boundaries and the other person is conscious of the confinement.

Need to show:

1. A willful detention by defendant

Can be detention by violence, threats, etc. Does not have to be physically restrained. (so could be threat of calling police)

2. Without consent of plaintiff

3. Without authority of law

4. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Need to show:

1. Intent

The defendant must be shown to have acted with the purpose of causing mental distress.

2. Extreme and outrageous conduct

Courts can be very demanding as to whether the conduct was “extreme and outrageous”

Usually, abusive language and mere insult may not suffice as the conduct to support this tort.

People are expected and prefer to have developed a toughened skin for unkind or unseeming but normal occurrences of social interactions.

“broad application of this tort poses concerns that is could interfere with the exercise of legal rights; deter socially useful conduct that nevertheless causes emotional harm; impugning free speech or target conduct that is “different” rather than particularly reprehensible.

3. Severe Emotional Distress

There is some indication that this is extremely hard to prove

5. Trespass to Land/Private Nuisance

Trespass to Land-

1. A possessor of real property has a right to exclusive property

2. One who intentionally enters land in the...

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