Chapter 10 Intentional Torts Part 1

Question 1

Tort

Answer 1

A civil wrong. Tort is a violation of a duty imposed by law. Applicable to everyone. Torts are not equal to crimes.

Question 2

Tort Actions

Answer 2

Lawsuits between private parties; seeking compensation for losses suffered as a result of a wrong. (Different than breach of contract action)

Question 3

Breach of Contract Action

Answer 3

Violation of an obligation that the parties have voluntarily created between themselves.

Question 4

Battery

Answer 4

An intentional, unexcused harmful or offensive physical conduct. The intent the law requires is the intend to do the act, not the intent to actually harm the person! (Intent of action). Example of your friend leaning on the umbrella. There does not need to be an injury. These elements must be proved in court by the preponderance of the evidence.

Question 5

Transferred Intent

Answer 5

A throws a rock at B intending to hit B but misses and hits C. There is still the intent!

Question 6

Battery: Harmful or Offensive?

Answer 6

What would offend a reasonable person? An unwanted kiss or a puff of smoke would qualify.

Question 7

Injury is not an element of the tort!

Answer 7

Do not need an injury to prove the existence of a battery.

Question 8

Brown vs. Strauffer Chemical Co.

Answer 8

Brown called Maring a ‘scap’, then fired Maring. Brown gave Maring ‘pats on the rear’, and was charged with assault and battery. ‘Pats on the rear’ are a battery, and are harmful offensive (deemed by the Court).
Brown awarded nominal damages ($1) for the battery and assault by his supervisor.
The point of intentional torts is to compensate the victim of the losses! There is an element of wrongful conduct to send the message to not do something.

Question 9

Battery: Physical Conduct?

Answer 9

Direct: person to person.
Physical forces: throwing a beer bottle or the eraser; or touching something attached to the person.
Contact may be with something attached to or in near proximity of the plaintiff. (Purse in one’s arms or dog on a leash).
Dog on leash: Possibly battery, depends on the length of the leash and how connected the person was to the dog.
Women with a purse: if a guy steals the purse; it can be a battery because the purse is part of the woman’s personal space!

Question 10

Battery: Unexcused

Answer 10

It is unexcused.

Question 11

Battery: Defenses

Answer 11

Consent and Justification.

Question 12

Battery Defense: Consent

Answer 12

Just because you have consented to contact, you have consented to all the physical harm (Think of sports).

Question 13

Battery Defense: Justification

Answer 13

Self-defense should be applied at the same level. Defense of others or property.
If you are threatened with deadly force, then you are allowed to use self-defense with deadly force.

Question 14

Assault

Answer 14

An intentional unexcused act that creates in another person a reasonable apprehension or fear of immediate harmful or offensive conduct.
Battery is the touching, the assault is what precedes that!
Sometimes there is the battery and an assault. No tort for verbal assault.

Question 15

Assault Examples

Answer 15

When he throws the eraser that’s battery, when he winds up with the eraser that is the assault! When the criminal shows off the gun or frying pan that is the assault.

Question 16

Assault Intent

Answer 16

You have to do the act that creates the fear of the apprehension of contact, it is not actually intending to create the fear!

Question 17

False Imprisonment (Unlawful Restraint)

Answer 17

Intentional confinement or restraint of another person without justification.
Must be by physical means or threat thereof, not by mere moral pressure, alone.

Question 18

False Imprisonment Defenses: Consent

Answer 18

J.H. Harvey Co. vs. Speight.

Question 19

J.H. Harvey Co. vs. Speight

Answer 19

Harvey was suspected for shoplifting cigarettes and is confronted by the manager.
Speight sued for assault, battery, and false imprisonment.
1) Battery: The manager touches the jacket (Court said Speight gave the manager consent though!)
2) Assault: Court said it was consented as well! (The manager waving his hand the assault is the assault but it was consented).
3) False imprisonment: Court said this was voluntarily! He offered to stay and let the manager search him and talk to him!

Question 20

Shopkeepers Qualified Privilege (Need All Three points)

Answer 20

1) Reasonable suspicion of shoplifting and 2) reasonable manner and 3) reasonable time.

Question 21

Adams vs. Zayre Corp.

Answer 21

Adams was detained while employees checked her bags for 15 minutes and then detained for additional time for “processing”–even though shoplifting suspicion was disproven. This is not “reasonable time.”
Adams wins for false imprisonment! (BOOM)
1) Reasonable time: Nope, took them 15 minutes. Should only really take 1 minute! This was an unreasonable time.
2) Reasonable manner: Well they grabbed her and held her.
3) Reasonable suspicion of shoplifting: it’s a privilege to stop these people but it needs to be done reasonably.

Question 22

Defamation

Answer 22

Publication of a false statement of fact that holds another up to hate, ridicule or contempt (damages a person’s reputation or character for honesty or integrity).

Question 23

Slander

Answer 23

Oral defamation.

Question 24

Libel

Answer 24

Written defamation. Any broadcasting media including the internet.
This is a more serious tort than slander.
Written word tends to be more hurtful than slander (can read it on newspaper), more believable.
Written statements are archived! Can be read over and over again, whereas overall statements go away over time.

Question 25

Defamation: Publication

Answer 25

Communication of the defamatory statement to party other than the subject of the statement.
This means a third party hears it, sees it, or reads it, then therefore reacts to the reputation of the target.
You do not need widespread or formal printing or distribution to the public.

Question 26

Defamation: Publication (cont.)

Answer 26

This includes repeating a defamatory statement-even if you reference the source. Gossiping is important and dangerous! You may be repeating a false fact about somebody that is defamatory.

Question 27

Defamation: Statement of Fact

Answer 27

False facts. Not statement of opinion. Think of the Cherry Sisters suing the editor of a newspaper.

Question 28

Cherry Sisters Case

Answer 28

Cherry Sisters sued for defamation! The Court said this is not defamation because this is his opinion and is not actionable! This was a public performance thus leading to review and this was his opinion.

Question 29

N.Y. Times vs. Sullivan (1964)

Answer 29

The issue was their some factual misstatements within the article!

1) Mr. Sullivan was the head of the police department and says these false statements refer to him! Therefore he sues for defamation! He said these statement of facts would hurt his reputation.
2) Kids were not expelled from school for signing, but expelled because of a lunch incident. Didn’t sing the exact song spelt out in the article. The dining hall was never locked to keep them from starvation, it was locked because it was a weekend. These were all false statements of fact!!
3) In the state tort trial, the jury awarded Sullivan $500,000. The Times appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the need for protection from libel law to preserve freedom of the press.

Question 30

NY Times Argument

Answer 30

Claimed this was suppression of free speech, they said the press will not investigate government wrongdoings because if they get one little mistake then they will get sued like this!
Where is the balance point where we protect personal rights and free press?
Leads to Actual Malice!

Question 31

Actual Malice

Answer 31

Knowledge of falsity or reckless action without regard for truth.
In order to recover for damages, public officials have an additional requirement: actual malice must be proven.
Need to show the press intended to do harm, or were not careful enough to verify the facts and decided to published with harm.

Question 32

Defamation: Defenses

Answer 32

1) Truth is an absolute defense. 2) Privilege: Absolute or Qualified.

Question 33

Absolute Privilege

Answer 33

Speaker doesn’t need to worry about here being sued in the particular places like in the courtroom.

Question 34

Qualified Privilege (Common interest)

Answer 34

If statement is made in good faith, without knowledge of falsity or intent to harm.