Rostron – Torts – Fall 2014 – UMKC
I. Battery
A. Prima Facie Elements
1. An act by D
i. Must be volitional
a. Unconscious acts are not volitional
2. Intent to inflict a harmful or offensive touching
i. Desire to cause the touching or with the belief that the touching was substantially certain to occur
3. A harmful or offensive touching occurs
i. Harmful if it injures, disfigures, or impairs the body; offensive if it would offend a reasonable person’s sense of dignity
ii. May be different if D knew P was hypersensitive
4. Causation
i. Setting in motion the force that actually causes the touching suffices
B. Damages
1. Compensatory – pain and suffering; medical bills, etc.
2. Punitive
i. Only if D acted maliciously
ii. May be unconstitutional if:
a. There is a large disparity between the compensatory award and the punitive
b. The punitive award is much more severe than the criminal or administrative penalties that could have been imposed for D’s conduct
c. D’s conduct was not unduly reprehensible
II. Intent
A. Single v. Dual Intent
1. Single – requires only intent to cause contact
2. Dual – requires intent to cause contact AND intent for that contact to be harmful or offensive
3. MISSOUIR – Not clearly established; standard jury instructions seem to use the “single intent” approach
B. Transferred Intent
1. An action need not be directed at the plaintiff in order to give rise to liability for intentional torts such as battery.
2. Intent can be transferred between different torts
3. MISSOURI – No published decisions; but it is an old and established rule
C. Insanity
1. The prevailing American view is that a finding of insanity does not preclude a finding that a defendant acted intentionally
III. Respondeat Superior
A. Doctrine under which an employer can be liable for a tort done by an employee (within the scope of their employment)
IV. Extended Liability
A. Provides that a person who commits an intentional tort is liable for the resulting injuries, even if those injuries are worse than the person intended or could have anticipated
V. Assault
A. Prima Facie Elements
1. An act by D
i. Words alone are ordinarily insufficient except when surrounding circumstances force P to rely on mere words
2. Intent to cause apprehension of an immediate harmful or offensive touching
3. Apprehension
i. Must be imminent
ii. Must be aware of danger
iii. Must be reasonable
a. Apparent ability to inflict a touching suffices
4. Causation
B. Damages same as battery
C. Cannot have an assault claim based on apprehension that someone else is going to suffer a harmful or offensive contact.
D. Missouri (and most courts) are divided on the issue of whether the apprehension needs to be objectively reasonable.
VI. False Imprisonment
A. Prima Facie Elements
1. An act by D
i. Words alone may suffice
2. Intent to confine P to a specific area
i. Measured by the desire or belief in substantial certainty test
3. A confinement
i. Without knowledge of reasonable means of escape
ii. Must be aware of the confinement at the time thereof or else be harmed by the confinement
iii. Causes:
a. Physical force
b. Threats of immediate harm
c. Actual or apparent physical barriers to escape (includes refusing to release P when under a duty to do so)
d. Assertion of legal authority
iv. Duration = appreciable length of time
4. Causation
B. Duress of Goods
1. Where a person i
Intangible Property
i. Courts not clearly addressed – Missouri – an action for conversion can be brought for the taking of negotiable instruments like checks or promissory notes but not for a taking of cash because an ordinary debt or money cannot be described or identified as a specific chattel.
VIII. Defenses and Privileged Invasions of Land and Chattels
A. Consent
B. Privileged Invasion of Another’s Land to Reclaim Chattels
C. Privilege to Exclude or Evict Trespassing Chattels of Another
D. Privileged Invasion of Another’s Land or Chattels as a Public Necessity
1. One is privileged to enter land in the possession of another if it is, or if the actor reasonably believes it to be, necessary for the purpose of averting an imminent public disaster
2. The government may be required to pay just compensation for land or chattels taken in public necessity
E. Privileged Invasion of Another’s Land or Chattels as a Private Necessity
1. Privilege still exists, but it is more limited than public necessity, because the person acting out of a private necessity will be liable for any actual harm caused to the plaintiff’s property
2. Privilege exists if:
i. Is or reasonably appears to be necessary to prevent serious harm to
a. The actor or his land or chattels
b. The other or a third person, or the land or chattels of either, unless the actor knows or has reason to know that the one for whose benefit he enters is unwilling that he shall take such action.
