Intentional Torts:

Intent: Subjective Purpose or knowledge to a substantial certainty

Doctrine of transferred intent: between people and torts Everyone is liable for intentional torts! Battery: Intentionally causing H/O contact with . 1. Intent: jx split: (1) *Intent to cause contact,(2) Intent to cause H/O contact 2. Contact: contact may be direct or indirect with body of and body of . 3. Harmful/Offensive: Reasonable persons reasonable dignity. 4. With : Can be with body or item connected thats customarily regarded as part of body. Assault: Intent 2 cause reasonable apprehension of imminent battery. 1. Intent: Transferred intent works 2. Apprehension: Reasonable person standard; words alone not enough; no conditional threats 3. Imminent: whether had apparent present ability False Imprisonment: Intentionally restraining/confining to bounded area w/ s awareness 1. Intentionally: Purpose or knowledge to a SC 2. Restrains/Confines : Phys barriers, (threats of) phys force, Submission to apparent legal auth, or having duty to provide escape and not a. Moral persuasion not enough 3. awareness: juris split: a. Maj: Awareness @ time of event b. Min: Awareness @ time or physical injury IIED: Intent to cause severe emotional distress through extreme/outrageous conduct and causing that distress 1. Intent to cause severe emotional distress: Purpose/K to SC. a. No transferred intent 2. Extreme/Outrageous Conduct: reasonable person; 3. actually suffered severe emotional distress: reasonable person standard unless knows of spec. sens. Trespass to Land: Every intentional, unauthorized entry onto anothers land = trespass. 1. Intent: to be on that land; mistake doesnt negate intent 2. Actual presence on the land: no actual damage req.; prop extends up & down; continued pres.; resp for all resulting damage 1. 2.

Negligence: (Actual damage is required!)

Breach: Failure to use reasonable care
Duty of care depends on foreseeability B<PxL breach/Cheapest cost avoider approaches Standard of care: a. RPP: Objective; custom; emergency b. Phys. Disability: reasonable person with that disab. c. Children: Like age, intelligence, experience (unless adult activity or inherently dangerous act) d. Mental disab: same RPP standard e. Professional: ordinary, competent prof. under same /similar circum.; no hand formula; custom impt f. Informed consent: Nature, risks, conseq, & alt. treat c.o.a. = breach duty 2 inform+causation+ injury g. Medical Malp: Acted against recog. stds. or did not act on something reqd. to do. *no locality rule 4. Negligence per se: use of standard set by criminal statute a. Member of class intended to be protected b. Type harm suffered = type intended to protect from c. Legislation otherwise appropriate (Perry v. SN factors for appropriateness) d. Jx split on effects! Conclusive, excuses, presumption, mere evidence 5. RIL: No direct evidence of negl occurrence is enough a. Accident of a kind that doesnt happen without someones negligence. b. Instrumentality causing inj. under exclusive control of . c. Not invoked against multiple d. Different procedural effects based on jx Causation in Fact: but for causation - Need only prove it is probable that injury would not have occurred w/o s negl. EXECPT: 1. Medical Misdiagnosis: Chance of survival already < 50% a. Substantial factor test b. Loss of chance approach 2. Toxic Exposure cases (DES Case): Statistical evidence of increased likelihood (more than doubled approach or market share approach) 3. Multiple sufficient causes: When 2 acts combine to cause damages, both s liable as long as each is substantial factor BOP shifts to s Proximate Cause: harm directly by s negl w/o superseding cause 1. not liable for unforeseeable conseq: (except thin skull rule foreseeability of KIND of harm) 2. Unforeseeable s: Duty arg v. Prox cause arg 3. Intervening Causes: a. Superseding Acts: when intervening act was extraordinary under the circumstances- not liable b. Acts of God/nature: often superseding (not always) c. Criminal conduct by 3rd P: usually superseding, but negligence by 3rd P is not 4. Rescue Doctrine: a. must have been negl to person being rescued and that must have caused [appearance of] peril. b. Peril must have been imminent c. Reasonable person must have seen peril d. Rescuer must have acted with reasonable care Duty: If person acts - owes duty of reasonable care 2 avoid inj. others; if a person fails to act no duty of care. EXCEPTIONS: 1. Special Relationship: control over 2. Special relationship w/ 3rd P: who can better prevent harm? 3. Vol. Assumption of resp.: is relying on for protection? 4. Owners and Occupiers of Land: Depends on Status of : a. Trespassers: No duty b. Licensees: Own business; warn of known dangers c. Invitees: owners business Or mutual business; reasonably safe LO has duty to inform himself d. Children: reasonably safe - R2d 339 e. Public Officials: No standard; may apply gen. negl 1. 2. 3.

Defenses to Intentional Torts Consent: Willingness or Assent

Express: Verbal or written check that inj. within consent Implied: From conduct or social norms a. Would a reasonable person think consented? 3. Medical: Implied consent is valid only in an emergency 4. Obtained by fraud = not valid consent (as long as its to the essential character of the act fraud to collateral matter doesnt negate consent) Self-Defense & Defense of Others: Priv. to use reasonable force to defend yourself/3rd P against imminent/ongoing battery 1. Reasonable belief force is necessary to protect yourself or 3rd P from battery; Mistake is acceptable 2. Amount of force must be reasonable only use force theyre protecting against 1. 2.

Defense of Property:
1. No deadly force allowable to protect against property/Min jx: deadly force okay with warning Public: (Complete defense) a. Public (not private) interests at stake b. reasonable in believing act was needed c. Action taken was reasonable response to need Private: (Incompl. Defense Compensation req.) a. [reasonably appears] threatened w/ serious harm b. Response reasonable in light of threat

Necessity (Only for Trespass):

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Defenses to Negligence: 1. Contributory Negligence: Complete bar to recovery in

minority of jxs most dont follow a. breached duty of care b. s breach was but for cause of injury c. s breach was proximate cause d. Doctrine of last clear chance: recovery not barred if had the last opportunity to avoid injury Comparative Fault: Majority of jxs not a complete bar damages proportional to responsibility first find elements of contributory negligence! a. Pure Approach: s damages reduced in proportion to % of negligence attributed to them. b. Modified Approach:(what GA has) s negligence less than s 49% or less at fault no recovery for 50/50 liability (strictest) c. 2nd Modified Approach: s negligence not greater than s. recovers for less than or equal to 50% fault. Can recover from 50/50 liability. d. Consider 2 factors: i. Relative Culpability (who breached more?) ii. Causative Potency (Whose breach was more of a PC?) Express Assumption of Risk: complete defense enforceable unless exculpatory clause is void as against public policy a. Void if act was intentional b. *Make sure injury was within scope of clause c. Against public policy if is performing service of great importance to the public, practical necessity d. May be against PP if adhesion K. Implied Assumption of Risk: Maj. jxs say its a complete defense/min. analyze under comparative fault a. must have had ACTUAL knowledge of risk and within scope of risk assumed b. must have voluntarily encountered the risk

Assessing Liability:
Vicarious Liability: When can be held liable for someone elses
tort, even though was not negligent 1. Respondeat Superior: Employer/Employee relationship a. Must have committed a tort while acting within scope of employment i. Reasonably incidental to employment ii. So connected as to justify employer pay iii. Frolic v. Detour 1. Frolic abandon bus. 2. Detour slight deviation b. Employee still liable for their own negligence 2. Independent Contractors: Gen. not liable for negl of IC a. IC: Employed to perform service for another but no control over how it is done b. Exception: Non-delegable duty (Employer not liable for collateral damages) Strict Liability: Liability without fault 1. Animals: a. Barnyard: owners liable when animals trespassed on anothers land b. Wild: Owner SL if animal injures anyone c. Domestic: Owner SL for injury only if owner knows/should know animal has dangerous propensities abnormal to its class 2. Rylands Rule: If brings something non-natural onto his land, that is likely to cause harm if it escapes, SL for any harm caused 3. Abnormally Dangerous Activities: (R2d Rule not all needed, but more than 1) a. Inability to eliminate risk through reasonable care b. High degree of risk of some kind c. Likelihood harm will be great d. Extent act is not matter of common usage e. Inappropriateness of location f. Extent value to community outweighed by danger 4. Limitations on SL: a. Proximate Cause: based on s engaging in a dangerous activity, can only recover for the type of harm that makes activity dangerous i. Courts split on if superseding cause destroys SL. b. Contributory Negl: The fact that was contributorily negl is not a complete bar, but IAR is!

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