Intentional Torts

By H. Beau Baez

This book provides the essential rules needed to understand the intentional torts generally covered in the first few weeks of law school. Specifically, it covers battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, trespass to chattels, and conversion. Also, this book presents the affirmative defenses that a defendant can raise to these intentional torts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9780986145513

Book preview

Baez

Introduction to Intentional Torts

Tort law is designed to compensate a victim for some wrongful act by the defendant.  All torts fall into one of three categories:  intentional, negligence, or strict liability. Intentional torts focus on the wrongdoer’s subjective desire to commit a wrongful act, negligence focuses on the unreasonableness of the wrongful act, and strict liability focuses only on the wrongful act itself.

There are many intentional torts, though we will only focus on six of them at this time—the ones that most students learn about in their first few weeks of law school.  Specifically, we will examine Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment, Trespass to Land, Trespass to Chattels, and Conversion.  These six torts all require an intentional act directed at a victim or a victim’s property.

Battery

The rule statement:  A battery occurs when a person intentionally acts to contact another person, in a manner that is harmful or offensive. The five elements to battery are contact, harmful or offensive, act by the defendant, intent, and victim.

Contact:  The defendant must physically touch the victim, either directly or indirectly.  A direct contact occurs, for example, when Duffy takes his fist and decides to hit Perry in the chest.  An indirect contact occurs when something closely associated with a person is touched.  For example, if someone rips a backpack off of someone, then that is an indirect contact with the victim.  So either direct or indirect contact satisfies this element.

Harmful or offensive:  Harmful or offensive contact is measured by what a society finds harmful or offensive.  Obvious examples include punching, knifing, biting, kicking, shooting, or spitting.  Contact which is accepted by society does not qualify as harmful or offensive, such as shaking hands or patting someone on the back.  For example, suppose that Perry has brittle bones and when Duffy shakes his hand in a normal manner, he breaks a bone.  Since shaking hands is not viewed as harmful or offensive by society, this element of battery is not met.  Keep in mind that