Torts Outline

Torts is an actionable civil wrong
Prima facie case- all of the elements in a case has been met
· PROCEDURES AT TRIAL
· Summary Judgment- Judgment rendered by a court in response to a motion made by one of the parties, claiming that the lack of question of material fact in respect to an issue warrants disposition of the issue warrants disposition of the issue without consideration by the jury
· Judgment N.O.V- A judgment entered by the trial judge reversing a jury verdict if the jury’s determination has no basis in law or fact
· Motion to Dismiss- plaintiff’s complaint does not state facts that show a good legal claim.
· “take all the facts stated in the complaint as if they were proved: even so, they do not show a valid legal claim”
· DAMAGES
· Compensatory damages elements- (Torts is a system of compensation) the injured person has the burden of proving damages and liability-
· Compensatory damages are intended to be exactly proportionate to the plaintiff’s actual Injury, so if minor fault causes great harm, the defendant must compensate for that harm. **no damages at all are awarded unless the defendant has wrongfully caused the injury
· *He/she has to prove he can recover any lost wages or lost earning capacity
· Medical expenses
· Pain and suffering endured, including mental or emotional pain
· Punitive damages- is awarded only when the tortfeasor has acted maliciously or wilfully or wantonly in causing injury. They are intend to provide a measure of added deterrence.
· Nominal damages-
· DIRECT INTENTIONAL WRONGS
· Establishing a Claim for Intentional Tort to Person or Property
· Pain and suffering- resulting in battery cases is not stand-alone distress, but is attached to or flows from some recognized tort
· Punitive Damages- malice or wanton misconduct
· Liability(Responsibility) and the Requirement of Fault
· Van Camp v. McAfoos- In order to establish a cause of action for battery, a plaintiff must plead and prove facts establishing the defendant’s wrongful conduct(intent)
· Intentional- Objective not subjective(what you intended does not matter)
· Purposeful desire- (direct and circumstantial evidence)
· Act is substantially certain to result in harm or contact… reasonable person knew or should have known
· Garratt v. Dailey- substantially certain to result in harm by removing the chair when P was about to sit down… speaks to infancy/child
· Children- can’t escape liability merely because of age; no liability to sue parents unless provided for. Children need to be old enough to form intent
· Transferred intent-
· intends a tort on one person, but commits it on another
· tortfeasor intends one but accomplishes another
· Hall v. McBryde- shooting at the youths in the car with a bullet and mistakenly hitting another person with that bullet
· Mentally disabled- not an absolute defense to liability but it makes it harder
· Polmatier v. Russ
· Policy reasons- somebody who has been wronged and someone who did. who should pay: victim vs. wrongdoer. Relatives should be keeping tabs of people who might be at harm to people; you can’t turn a blind; somebody in the family should be blamed. Discourage against faking it. If people think they can get away with it then there is a deterrence to stop people from doing it.
· Intentional Torts
· BATTERY-intentional infliction of a harmful or offensive contact with the person of the other or a third person
· Concept of Battery-
· Example: A intentionally punches B in the nose. A has committed battery
· Intent- on the part of the defendant to bring about harmful or offensive contact to the plaintiff’s person;
· Synder v Turk-Intent(he intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact by pushing her down to the patient’s opening.
· Harmful Contact- or
· direct or indirect touching that causes pain or bodily damage i.e; it will be sufficient if he sets in motion a force that brings about harmful or offensive contact to the plaintiff’s person
· Offensive contact- damaging to a reasonable sense of personal dignity and contact results
· Cohen v. Smith- His act was offensive by smoking in a person’s face even if he is not harmed in the sense of being physical pain or personal injury, a battery has occurred because a person of average sensitivity in P’s position would have her dignity offended
· Person of peculiar sensitivity cannot recover unless touching would be offensive under social standard
· Touching items closely associated with plaintiff’s body
· P need not be aware: It is not necessary that P have actual awareness of the contact at the time it occurs.
· Example: D kisses P while she is asleep. D has committed a battery
· ASSAULT- an act by defendant with the intent to place the victim in immediate apprehension of receiving a battery
· Policy of Assault-
· protects the plaintiff from emotional harm or psychological invasion.
· recognizing this behavior as violative and resolving their disputes in the court system is preferred as opposed to self help.
· Society balances unwanted contact with gregarious defendants
· Act by the defendant
· words alone are not sufficient… must be words plus some overt action
· i.e., clenching of the fist
· words can negate/undermine assault.
· Intent – (purposeful , substantially certain, transferred)
· Purposeful Intent- purpose or desire to put the plaintiff in apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact
· Garret v. Daley- seven year old pulls chair out from under a guest, the defendant acted with substantial certainty that a touching would occur
· Substantial Certainty- defendant knows, or should know, that the act is substantially certain to result in the plaintiff’s apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact
· Transferred Intent-
· intent to harm victim A but harm victim B;
· intent to commit tort A but accomplish tort B
· a threat to inflict harm unless P fulfills a condition that D is not entitled to require, demonstrates intent to assault.
· Immediate Appre