Intent = desire or substantial certainty
Transferred Intent
· Intent to commit one of 5 Intentional Torts is intent to commit them all: (1) battery, (2) assault, (3) false imprisonment, (4) trespass to land, (5) trespass to chattel.
· Mistake or Insanity are no defense
Battery = intentionally causes:
(1) Harmful, OR
(2) offensive – personal dignity of ordinary guy
(3) contact
· Leichtman v. WLW Jacor – blowing smoke
· Bohrmann v. Maine Yankee Pwr- radioactive fieldtrip not battery
Assault = intentionally causing apprehension of imminent (now not future & reasonable):
(1) harmful, OR
(2) offensive
(3) contact.
· Castro v. Local 1199 – boss yell @woman. Words alone not assault
· Campbell v. KSU – words alone w/apparent ability = assault.
False Imprisonment = Defendant intentionally:
(1) confines OR restraints plaintiff, AND
(2) in a bounded area, AND
(3) plaintiff is harmed or conscious of confinement
· Means of Confinement: physical, force, threat o immediate force, omissions to duty to act, false arrest/improper assertion legal auth
o Blocking preferred path ≠ FP
o Coercion must be immediate & physical – econ/firing/threat of disclosure doesn’t work
· R2d§35 consciousness not req
· Maniaci v. Marquette – student put in asylum. Restraint through lawful process ≠ FI
· Dupler v. Seubert – Fired woman can’t leave office.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress = Defendant engages in:
(1) Outrageous AND extreme conduct
(2) With the intent OR recklessness
(3) to cause plaintiff extreme mental distress, AND
(4) Plaintiff actually suffers extreme mental distress.
· Outrageous/Extreme = intolerable in civ soc
· If D knows P is “vulnerable”, that counts
· 3rd Party Recovery if: family member present (no req to prove distress) or person has bodily harm. [Maj: No, Min: Yes, R2d]
· Public Figure req NY Times Malice = pub of known false statement.
· Common Carrier Rule: only req gross insult, not full IIED
· Slocum v. Food Fair – “You stink to me” not obj std of outrageous
· Rulon-Miller v. IBM – take away free will extreme
· Jones v. Clintoni –must actually suffer distress.
· Hustler v. Falwell – Public Figures must show NY Times malice.
Defenses to Intentional Torts
1) Self-Defense = reasonable response to an immediate threat
2) Defense of Others = reasonable response to an immediate threat to third person.
a. Maj: reasonable mistakes ok (good Samaritan) Min: only if 3rd party has right of self-defense.
3) Citizen’s Arrest = reasonable force & reasonable belief of arresting right person for FELONIES ONLY + breach of peace misdemeanor.
4) Defense of Property = non-deadly force allowable
5) Private Necessity = can interfere to save property of greater value, but must compensate for loss.
6) Public Necessity = interfere with property to prevent injury/death.
7) Consent = difficult to determine mostly
· Civil Disobedience ≠ defense
· Drabek v. Sabley – statute can limit defenses (kids w/snowballs)
· Vincent v. Lake Erie Transp – private necessity ok, but must pay
DUTY
· To whom D owes obligation to conform to std of care
· Forseeability – *SPLIT*
o Maj: “Zone of Risk” – Cardozo
o Min: “Everyone in the World” – Andrews
LIMTS ON DUTY
· Failure to Act – generally no duty to act
· Exceptions to No Duty to Act
o Special relationships (parents limited)
o Psychologists to victims (not property)
o D or Instrument under D’s control create peril
o D voluntarily puts P in worse position
· NIED – generally ok to be negligent to mental health
o Exception if result of physical impact
o Maj: Thing Rule (CA) – strict & present @ scene
o Min: Dillon Rule – flexible & only near scene
o Min: Hawaii – no limited duty if foreseeable
o Physical Manifestation – Maj: yes, Min: no (CA)
o Fear of Future Harm – Maj: if 50% chance of get disease or distress parasitic to injury (CA); Min: If fear reasonable
· Wrongful Death
o Must be close relative – CA domestic partners
o Recoverable Damages – *SPLIT*
· Maj: only pecuniary loss (NY)
· Min: + loss of companionship (NB)+ grief (FL)
· CA no puitive damages, other states ok
· Survival Actions – inheret tort, but splits on pain&suffering (CA-no) and punitives
· Loss of Consortium – loss of co
ent of accident
o P not at fault
o *SPLIT* on multiple D’s; Maj: No
III. CAUSE IN FACT
· Maj: “But For” Test
o But for Ds neg, injury would not have occurred
o If have multiple Ds, each must be a but for cause, or…
· Substantial Factor Test
o Requires that D materially contributed to injuries
o With redundant causes, each must breach std of care
· Med Malpractice Rule – *SPLIT*
o Maj: neg of med pro is but for of P’s injury (CA)
o Related But For: jury determines substantial factor
o Modern Trend: Compensates P for lost chance of recovery
· Burden Shifting
o Multiple D’s breach std of care, but one causes harm
o Shift burden to D’s (Summers v. Tice)
o Drug Company Liability – *SPLIT*
· Trad – must show each corp caused injury
· Enterprise – industry std (sml industries only)
· Acting in Concert – not burden-shifting!
· Market Share Liability
· CA allows proof of non-involvement
· NY lets no one escape liability
· Toxic Causation – no compensation for enhanced risk
IV. PROXIMATE CAUSE
· Forseeability: reasonably foreseeable type of harm w/o superceding, intervening causes
o Type of harm must be foreseeable, not extent of injury
o Superceeding = extradordinary, surprising
· Egg Shell P – D responsible for P’s injuries even if P fragile
V. DEFENSES
· Contributory Neg – if P at fault for creating situation then no liability for D
· Comparative Neg – makes contributory neg a partial defense
o Maj: “Modified” – 50% threshold before recovery allowed
o Min: “Pure” – exact % of how much harm done
· Assumption of Risk – (1) Knows particular risk, (2) voluntarily (3) assumes it
o Implied – Partial Defense in Maj of jx; not written, deduced from Ps behavior
