TORTS PERCY FALL 2014
TORTS NOTES 09/08
Intentional Infliction Emotional Distress
· Intent to cause severe emotional distress
· Has to be obscene and extreme (purposefully took advantage of a plaintiff’s disabilities)
· Has to be outrageous
· Defendant has to have severe emotional distress
TAYLOR V. VALLELUNGA
· Daughter is suing for intentional emotional distress
· Doesn’t get to recover because the defendants knew daughter was present and also knew she was his daughter
· Even though he didn’t mean to hurt her, one might say that he acted with SUBSTANTIAL CERTAINTY OR RECKLESSNESS he may have been liable for the tort of Intentional Emotional Distress
· Why couldn’t they go for transferred intent?
o They would need to prove
RESTATEMENT 2ND OF TORTS – IIED Where Conduct Is Aimed at a Third Party
· Where such conduct is directed at a third party, the actor is subject to liability if he intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress
o To a member of such person’s immediate family who is immediate present at the time, whether or not such distress results in bodily harm, or
o To any other person who is present at the time, if such distress results in bodily harm
INTENTIONAL TORTS AGAINST PROPERTY
· TRESPASS TO LAND
· TRESPASS TO CHATTEL
· CONVERSION
Trespass to chattel is trespass to stuff, not land.
· TRESPASS TO CHATTEL
Glidden v. Szybiak
Plaintiff is suing because the storeowner’s dog has bitten her. Dog owner is saying that she cannot sue because the Plaintiff was committing trespass against chattel, against the dog that she was riding like a horse.
Trespass to Chattel
You have to prove dispossession or damage to the property
· Intentional
· Dispossessing the plaintiff of the chattel
· The chattel is impaired as to its condition
· The possessor is deprived of the use of the chattel for its condition, quality or value
· Possessor is deprived of the use of the chattel for a substantial
· Bodily harm is caused to the possessor or harm is caused to some person or thing in which the possessor has a legally protected interest.
o In CompuServe, their business reputation is a legally protected interest. This allows the injunction to make Cyber Promotions to stop sending the spam
CONVERSION
An actor takes a chattel and completely possesses it.
– If you break it you buy it.
PEARSON V. DODD
– Senator Dodd sued newspaper columnists who published stories containing information which was copied from Dodd’s files.
– Stealing
– Sometimes you can get replacement value rather than market value
– Has to be tangible property
Bailees and Bona Fide Purchasers
– Bailee who mistakenly misdelivers good to third party can be held liable
– Bailee who stores stolen good in good faith is not liable
– BFP of stolen goods is liable for conversion. Thief would also be liable.
– A BFP of goods obtained by fraud will not be held liable for conversion if he bought the goods from a seller who obtained title. Stealer is liable.
PRIVILEGES
– Consent
o Most privileges are defenses, meaning that the defendant has the burden of pleading and proving them.
o Is consent a defense or is a lack of consent an element of the tort itself?
o Examples of express consent
§ Patient signed consent form for surgery
§ Girl tells boy he can kiss
§ Two men verbally agree to a fist fight
§ Implied Consent
· Defendant reasonably believes that Plaintiff implies consent
o P’s conduct
o P’s failure to object
o Circumstances
o What is customary in context
– Self-Defense
– Defense of others
– Defense of property
– Recovery of property
– Necessity (public and private
– Authority
CONVERSION
Damage so bad, it constitutes a forced sale of said chattel.
PRIVILEGES
Þ Consent (express and implied)
Þ Self-Defense
Þ Defen
ot breaking and entering). In others, Defendant is privileged only if Defendant could have used such force if Defendant had been present.
Þ IF DEFENDANT MISTAKENLY BELIEVES PLAINTIFF HAS NO PRIVILEGE TO ENTER THE PROPERTY, THEN DEFENDANT HAS NO DEFENSE.
RECAPTURE OF PROPERTY
Þ When can you use force to recover property? Doctrine of Fresh Pursuit
Þ Property owner may use reasonable force (but not deadly) after demand if:
o Property has been wrongfully taken by force or by fraud, and;
o Attempt to recapture is immediate (longer periods in some jurisdictions)
Þ Suspected Shoplifting
o Merchant has a privilege to reasonably detain person:
§ Reasonable suspicion
§ Reasonable detention (in terms of force and time length)
§ Privilege extends to right outside store, needs to be a fresh pursuit.
Þ Public Necessity
o A Defense to conversion, trespass to property or trespass to chattel when taking or use of property reasonably appears necessary to prevent great harm to public
o This defense may be invoked by non-official individual acting on behalf of the community
o Defendant who invokes privilege is generally not required to pay damages.
Þ Private Necessity
o Defendant who invokes this privilege does have to pay actual damages but there are no punitive damages
o Privilege also protects against other torts like trespass to property
AUTHORITY OF LAW/ARREST
Þ Police officer executing valid arrest warrant has defense
Þ If an officer
Þ SEE TWEN
DISCIPLINE
Þ Teachers, parents, military officials may claim discipline
Þ Has to be reasonable
Þ Local regulations may limit teacher’s privilege to use discipline
Justification
Þ Basically a catch-all privilege which can be asserted for public policy reasons
