Torts I Outline
Prof. Moore – Spring 2015
· Tort: a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract for which the law provides a remedy.
· Intentional Torts
· 7 Intentional Torts: FIT TABC
o False Imprisonment, IIED, Trespass to Land, Trespass to Chattel, Assault, Battery, Conversion
· Transferrable Torts: FITBAT
o False imprisonment, trespass to land, battery, assault, trespass to chattel
o Do not put conversion!!!
· Strict Liability: One is liable for damages to another if they cause the damage
· Public Policy
o 1. Protects right to property
o 2. Protects right to bodily integrity
· Abnormally dangerous activities (Ex: Blasting)
o Competing Public Policies
§ 1. Right to have your land free from damage or injury vs.
§ 2. Right to adapt your land to a contemplated use
o General:
§ The point is not your right to improve property, the point is that you’re liable during abnormally dangerous activity
§ If your activity is a lawful activity, but one where you expect damage, there’s no need to prove negligence b/c it falls under strict liability due to the nature of the act
§ If it will, may, or is likely to cause damage, you will have to pay
o Exceptions:
§ Lawful intention using Ordinary Care
§ Unavoidable accidents
· Intent: The voluntary desire to bring about a result, and the belief that the result is substantially certain to occur.
· Types of Intent:
o 1. General Intent: Setting in motion a chain of events knowing with substantial certainty that the outcome is likely to occur.
o 2. Specific Intent: Acting with purpose or design to do a given act. (sometimes a person may not accomplish that goal)
· 3 Concepts:
o 1. Motive
§ Elements (don’t need to prove intent (hatred, jealousy = not relevant))
· 1. Goals
· 2. Desires
· 3. Emotions
o 2. Intent
o 3. Act
· 5 Main Rules:
o 1. Good Faith Mistake: Good faith and mistake do not negate intent
o 2. Accident: Unavoidable actions beyond your control “an occurrence where one did not act intentionally”
§ PP: Accidents can occur, do occur, & we need to give some absolution to the D
o 3. Rule of Children: 5+ does not negate intent
o 4. Rule of Intoxication: Voluntary intoxication does not negate intent
o 5. Rule of Mental Illness: Mental illness does not negate intent
§ Public Policy:
· 1. If you are in charge of someone, you must be more watchful for their person and their property
· 2. You cannot harm another person and burden them with their loss while you continue your wealth
· 3. Courts do not want to decide whether a person is insane
§ Intent: May have general intent if insane, but not necessarily specific intent
§ Minority Rule: If one is institutionalized, mentally disabled, & attacks another person. If the person who has control over them is attacked, the patient is not liable. They knew there could be potential attacks & should not accept compensation.
· Volitional Acts: Acts must be voluntary for one to be liable (forseeability is key)
· Non-volitional acts: Behavior that is not voluntary and is not in one’s control does not result in liability
· Recklessness: One meant to do it but doesn’t care about the outcome
· Ordinary Care: The kind and degree of care that a cautious man would use (EX as needed in emergency)
o 3 situations where P cannot recover
§ If P and D did not exercise ordinary care
§ If P and D did exercise ordinary care
§ If D exercised ordinary care but P did not
· Ordinary v. Extraordinary Care
o 1. If no duty to act: must use extraordinary care
o 2. If duty to act: must use ordinary care
· Transferred Intent: The intent for one tort may be transferred to another tort if committed by the same action
· FITBAT only, do not put Conversion
· PP:
o 1. Deter antisocial behavior
o 2. Bring disputes to court
o 3. Take responsibility for actions
· 4 circumstances:
o 1. Intent to commit one tort, commit another
o 2. Intent to commit one tort, commit that tort + another
o 3. Intent to harm one person, harm another
o 4. Intent to harm one person, harm another + another tort vs. another person
· Applies to:
o 1. Tort to Tort, or
o 2. Person to Person
· Battery: intentional, harmful or offensive touching of another, directly or indirectly, without justification or excuse.
· Intentional: Requires the intent to touch, not the intent to harm.
o Also responsible for unintended consequences
§ Ex: D means to swing golf club inches away from P’s head, but the defective club’s head flies off, striking P. D is liable for any damages.
· Harmful or offensive touching of another:
o Harmful touching is that which causes injury of some sort to the victim.
o Offensive touching is that which the reasonable person would find objectionable.
§ Even if there is a good motive or not harmful to victim’s health, if victim finds it offensive, then it is.
· Ex: Operating on the left ear when the patient consented to an operation on her right ear. Mohr v. Williams
§ Beyond level of contact assented to
· Look out for sports event questions
· Ex: Hockey player checks another player unreasonably hard
o Define both, but only argue one or the other, no points for argu
ing in a location to clear your name does not constitute false imprisonment because the victim remained for a personal benefit
§ Plaintiff must have indicated desires to leave
o By the force or threat of force
§ Verbal commands, without force or threat of force, do not constitute false imprisonment
§ Acts or words which the victim fears to disregard is sufficient for false imprisonment
§ Threats of future action are not enough
§ Threats of harm against a 3rd person or the victim’s property constitute false imprisonment
o To a bounded area
§ The bounded area can be very large, but it must have limits on how far the victim can go
§ If there is a safe escape option available, the victim must take it.
· If the victim does not take it, then it is not false imprisonment
§ If the escape is not safe or unreasonable, the victim does not need to take it, and an action will lie for false imprisonment
§ If the victim is unaware of the means of escape, there is false imprisonment
§ Defendant is not liable if plaintiff takes dangerous means of escape and is injured, when able to remain safe in confinement
· Defendant is liable if the plaintiff is injured in taking a dangerous means of escape if there is also danger in remaining in confinement
o Without justification or excuse
§ Therefore unlawful
o And the victim is aware of or harmed by it
§ If the victim is not harmed by the confinement and he is not aware of it at the time it occurs, it is not false imprisonment
§ However, if the victim is harmed by the confinement, he does not need to be aware of it. The victim must be restrained by force or threat of force.
o Public policy
§ Right to personal dignity
§ Right to freedom of movement
· False arrest: One is taken into custody by one who claims but does not have proper authority
o What is NOT false arrest?
§ Conviction for the crime for which one is arrested is a defense to false arrest claim, regardless of unreasonableness of arrest.
§ If officer has probable cause
§ If officer requests help of a private citizen, citizen is not liable unless he/she knows arrest is unlawful
