Intentional Torts Overview

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Questions and Answers

What is required for an actor to be liable for false imprisonment?

The victim must be unaware of the confinement.

The actor must cause physical harm to another.

The actor must intend to cause emotional distress.

The actor must confine another without legal justification. (correct)

Which of the following best defines trespass to chattels?

Using land owned by another without permission.

Interfering with another person's chattel in a way that deprives them of its use. (correct)

Imposing physical barriers to prevent entry to property.

Intentionally entering land owned by another party.

Under what circumstances is an actor liable for conversion?

When they seriously interfere with another’s right of possession. (correct)

When they interfere with a chattel but can return it.

When they loan a chattel without permission.

When they use a chattel under explicit consent.

For an individual to be held liable for assault, which of the following must occur?

The individual must have intended to cause apprehension of harmful contact. Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by 'expressed consent' in legal terms?

Consent that is given directly, either verbally or in writing. Signup and view all the answers

What constitutes intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED)?

Engaging in conduct that is extreme and outrageous. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a mode of confinement under false imprisonment?

Creating a physical barrier to act as confinement. Signup and view all the answers

What is a key characteristic of battery?

Intending to cause harmful or offensive contact which then occurs. Signup and view all the answers

What does implied consent signify in legal terms?

Consent is inferred from actions or lack of action. Signup and view all the answers

Which situation allows for implied consent in a medical context?

The patient is unable to consent and immediate treatment is needed. Signup and view all the answers

Under what circumstance is consent not valid due to intoxication?

If the intoxicated person could not express rational will. Signup and view all the answers

What is true about consent given under duress?

It is not effective if the consent is forced. Signup and view all the answers

When can a person use reasonable force in self-defense?

When harmful or offensive contact is immediately threatened. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of recovery of property, which condition must be met?

The person must have had immediate possession before recovery. Signup and view all the answers

What is considered a privilege under public necessity?

To enter land to avert an imminent public disaster. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately represents informed consent?

It demands that all risks of treatment be disclosed to the patient. Signup and view all the answers

Which factor is NOT relevant to the defense of property?

Lethal force can always be used if necessary. Signup and view all the answers

What encapsulates the concept of negligence?

A breach of duty occurs through failure to use reasonable care. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Intentional Torts

Assault: Liability arises if someone intends to create an imminent fear of harmful or offensive contact, and that fear is realized.
Battery: Liability found if someone intends harmful or offensive contact, and that contact occurs, directly or indirectly.
False Imprisonment: Liability attaches when someone intends to confine another within fixed boundaries, and that confinement occurs without legal justification, and the other person is aware of the confinement.
Methods: Physical barriers, force, duress, threats.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED): Liability exists if someone intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another, and the conduct must be extreme, outrageous, severe, and causally related to the distress.
Trespass to Land: Liability occurs if someone intentionally enters another's land, causes something or someone to do so, remains on the land, or fails to remove something from the land.
Trespass to Chattels: Liability imposed when someone without consent or privilege interferes with another's personal property causing impairment (condition, quality, value) or significant loss of use. Intent, interference, causation are required elements.
Conversion: Liability arises when someone intentionally interferes with another's right to possess personal property, and the interference is significant enough to require paying the full value of the item.
Forms of Interference: Wrongful acquisition, transfer, detention, substantial alteration, severe damage, misuse.

Privileges

Consent: "Volenti non fit injuria" – no injury to the willing party.
Expressed Consent: Direct, positive, unequivocal agreement.
Implied Consent: Inferred by conduct, action, or inaction.
By Law: Emergencies where a reasonable person would find contact necessary.
Medical: In emergencies, if a serious harm risk exists if treatment delays, and reasonable person would consent. No implied consent if the treatment is not required!
Mistake/Misrepresentation/Duress: Invalid consent if under such influence.
Intoxication: Consent may be ineffective if the person is incapable of rational will.
Criminal Conduct: No tort recovery for injuries in consensual criminal acts. No defense for defendant.
Informed Consent: Surgeons must disclose treatment risks; failure can result in liability.
Self-Defense: Use of reasonable force to defend against immediate harmful or offensive contact. No retaliation.
Defense of Others: Similar elements to self-defense, with varying court interpretations regarding "reasonable belief."
Defense of Property: Reasonable force allowed to defend property or chattel from harm, dispossession, or meddling. No lethal force.
Recovery of Property: Use of reasonable force to recover wrongly taken property if: immediate right to possession, fresh pursuit, and reasonable circumstances. Shopkeepers can detain suspected criminals with reasonable belief and investigation.
Public Necessity: Privilege to enter another's land to avert an imminent public disaster.
Private Necessity: Privilege to enter another's land to prevent serious harm to oneself, property, or another.
Discipline: Reasonable force permissible for parents or legal guardians to control children.

Negligence

Negligence: Failure to conform conduct to a required standard, breaching a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent harm to someone.
Learned Hand Rule: Weighing burden of precaution against potential harm. (Formula incomplete)

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Description

This quiz covers the key concepts of intentional torts, including assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. You'll understand the definitions, liabilities, and methods related to these legal principles. Test your knowledge on how these torts are established in law.