TORTS 1 – DEAN RAY – FALL 2012
FIVE ELEMENTS FOR INTENTIONAL TORTS:
1. Voluntariness
2. Intention
3. Causation
4. Harm
5. Lack of a privilege or defense.
TRANSFERRED INTENT APPLIES TO FIVE INTENTIONAL TORTS:
1. Battery
2. Assault
3. False Imprisonment
4. Trespass to Chattels
5. Trespass to Land
BATTERY
ELEMENTS:
1. A battery is an intentional act that causes a harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff or with something closely connected thereto.
2. Defendant must either
a. Desire to cause an immediate harmful or offensive contact
b. Know such contact is substantially certain to occur
3. The harmful or offensive contact element is satisfied if the contact would inflict pain or impairment of any body function, or if a reasonable person would regard it as offensive.
a. It is sufficient for a battery if defendant causes a contact with something close to plaintiff, as where defendant snatches a plate from plaintiff’s hand.
b. Unlike assault, plaintiff need not be aware of the contact
COLE v. TURNER
FACTS: (None included)
RULE: Intentional touching of another in an unreasonable and violent manner is considered battery
WALLACE v. ROSEN
FACTS: During a school fire drill, Rosen (D) placed her hand on Wallace’s (P) back, causing her to fall down the stairs.
RULE: A battery is the knowing or intentional touching of one person by another in a rude, insolent, or angry manner.
FISHER v. CAROUSEL
FACTS: Fisher (P) sued Carrousel Motor Hotel (D) for battery and assault by Carrousel’s (D) employees who snatched a plate from his hands and yelled offensive words at hime.
RULE: The snatching or knocking of an object closely attached to an individual constitutes battery even though there was no actual physical contact to the individual’s body.
TALMAGE v. SMITH
FACTS: Smith (D), intending to scare away two boys who were on his property aims, throws a stick at one boy but instead his Talmage (P), the other boy, injures him.
RULE: An individual who intends an act or consequence against one party and instead injures a third party is liable to the third party for the injuries suffered.
MCGUIRE v. ALMY
FACTS: McGuire (P), Almy’s (D) care-taker, brought an action against the latter, an insane person, for injuries suffered when Almy (P) hit her with a chair.
RULE: An insane individual who is capable of forming the intent to strike another and acts upon that intent is liable to that individual for the injuries suffered.
GARRAT v. DAILEY
FACTS: Garrat (P) suffered injuries when Dailey (D), a five-year old boy, pulled a chair from underneath her.
RULE: A party is liable for battery when he is substantially certain that his act will result in harmful or offensive touching.
ASSAULT
ELEMENTS OF ASSAULT:
1. An assault is an intentional act that causes plaintiff to experience reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive contact.
2. Defendant must act with the desire to cause an immediate harmful or offensive contact or the immediate apprehension of such a contact, or know that such a result is substantially certain to occur.
3. Liability for assault will not be found unless a reasonable person in the same position as plaintiff would have experienced the same apprehension. However, if plaintiff’s apprehension is reasonable, the fact that defendant lacked the actual ability to cause the harmful or offensive contact does not defeat liability.
4. This element is satisfied if the contact threatened would inflict pain or impairment of any body function or if a reasonable person would regard it as offensive.
I DE S v. W DE W
FACTS: W de S (D), while in front of the house belonging to I de S (P) and his wife (P), threw a hatchet at the wife (P) which missed her.
RULE: A defendant may be liable in assault of a plaintiff, even though there has been no actual physical invasion of the plaintiff by the defendant.
WESTERN UNION TEL. CO. v. HILL
FACTS: Hill (P) instituted an action in assault against Western Union Telegraph Co. (D) after one of the latter’s employees made improper advances towards Hill (P) who was standing across the counter from the employee.
RULE: The actual liability of the defendant to cause harmful or offensive touching is not a requirement for actionable assult.
INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
STANDARD: “Severe” emotional distress
SLOCUM v. FOOD FAIR
FACTS: While a customer at Food Fair Stores of Florida (D), Slocum (P) was severely insulted by an employee which caused her to suffer a heart attack.
RULE: Conduct that causes mere emotional distress is not severe enough to allo
empted to leave several times.
RULE: A defendant is liable for false imprisonment when the defendant has prevented the plaintiff from leaving a certain limited area without legal justification.
PARVI v. CITY OF KINGSTON
FACTS: Parvi (P) sued the City of Kingston (D) for false imprisonment because the police had taken him to the outskirts of the city against his will. At trial, he testified that he could not recall anything that happened at the time in question.
RULE: A defendant is not liable for falsely imprisoning the plaintiff when the latter was not aware of the confinement at the time it occurs.
HARDY v. LABELLE’S DISTRIBUTING CO.
FACTS: Hardy (P) who was falsely accused of stealing from the store where she was employed, sues her employer, Labelle’s Distributing Co. (D) for false imprisonment.
RULE: A person cannot maintain an action for false imprisonment when no threat of force was used to compel that person to stay against her will.
ENRIGHT v. GROVES
FACTS: Enright (P) instituted an action in false imprisonment because she was arrested by Groves (D) upon her refusal to hand him her driver’s license.
RULE: A police officer is liable for false arrest when he arrests an individual without a warrant or probable cause that an offense has been committed by the individual.
WHITTAKER v. SANDFORD
FACTS: Sandford (P) sued Whittaker (D) for false imprisonment because of the latter’s refusal to provide Sandford (P) a means of getting from Whittaker’s (D) boat to shore.
RULE: Confinement of an individual to a bounded area, without means of egress, can result in false imprisonment even if there is no actual physical restrain used upon the individual.
TRESSPASS TO LAND
WAYS TO TRESSPASS TO LAND:
1) Entering
2) Cause Object (e.g. soot a duck and falls on neighbors property)
3) Failure to remove an object
4) Act beyond scope of consent
