What is an intentional tort?
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Explores intentional torts like assault, battery, false imprisonment, and their required elements for liability.
Mastering this deck enables you to identify, analyze, and apply the fundamental elements of intentional torts, enhancing your ability to evaluate liability in legal scenarios and develop effective defenses or claims related to personal injuries and invasions of rights.
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| # | Front | Back | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is an intentional tort? | An intentional tort is a wrongful act committed deliberately by a person who intends to cause harm or offensive contact, resulting in civil liability. | Intent + wrongful act |
| 2 | What are the four main elements required to establish liability for an intentional tort? | The four main elements are: (1) intent, (2) volitional act, (3) causation, and (4) resulting injury or harm. | Think of 'I V C R' – Intent, Volition, Causation, Result |
| 3 | Define assault in the context of intentional torts. | Assault is an act that intentionally causes another person to reasonably apprehend an immediate harmful or offensive contact. | Threat of harm that causes fear |
| 4 | What distinguishes battery from assault? | Battery involves actual physical contact that is harmful or offensive, whereas assault involves the apprehension of such contact without actual touching. | Battery = contact; Assault = threat |
| 5 | What are the elements needed to prove battery? | Intentional act, harmful or offensive contact, causation, and lack of consent. | Think: I + Contact + Causation + No Consent |
| 6 | What constitutes false imprisonment? | False imprisonment occurs when a person is intentionally confined or restrained without lawful justification and without a reasonable means of escape. | Unlawful confinement |
| 7 | What are the key elements to establish false imprisonment? | Intentional act, confinement or restraint, lack of lawful justification, and the victim's awareness of confinement or harm caused by it. | Think: I + Restraint + No justification + Awareness |
| 8 | Can confinement be physical, psychological, or both for false imprisonment? | It can be physical (locks, barriers) or psychological (threats, coercion) if it results in confinement. | False imprisonment isn't just physical |
| 9 | What is the significance of intent in intentional torts? | Intent refers to the desire or knowledge that the act will likely cause a certain result; it is necessary to establish liability for intentional torts. | Intent = purpose or knowledge |
| 10 | How does transferred intent apply in intentional torts? | Transferred intent occurs when the defendant intends to commit a tort against one person but unintentionally commits the same tort against another; the intent transfers. | Intent transfers from intended victim to actual victim |
| 11 | What is the difference between specific intent and general intent in torts? | Specific intent requires the defendant to intend the specific harm or contact; general intent only requires the intent to perform the act that leads to the harm, regardless of the outcome. | Specific = precise; General = broad act |
| 12 | What is necessary to prove causation in an intentional tort? | The plaintiff must show that the defendant’s act was a substantial factor in causing the injury or harm. | Link between act and harm |
| 13 | Can a defendant be liable for an intentional tort even if they did not intend to cause harm but intended the act that led to the harm? | Yes, if the act was intentional and caused the harm, liability can still attach, even if the specific harm was unintended. | Intent to act, not necessarily to harm |
| 14 | What is a defense to an assault claim? | Self-defense or defense of others, where the defendant reasonably believed they were in imminent danger and used proportionate force. | Defense = reasonable belief + proportional response |
| 15 | What are the defenses commonly used in battery claims? | Consent, self-defense, defense of others, and privilege or necessity. | Consent is key |
| 16 | When does lawful confinement justify false imprisonment? | When it is done under lawful authority, such as police making a lawful arrest or a person exercising a legal right. | Lawful authority = defense |
| 17 | What is the role of consent in intentional torts? | Consent acts as a defense by showing the plaintiff agreed to the act, negating liability for intentional torts like battery or assault. | Consent = permission |
| 18 | What is the significance of the 'reasonable person' standard in assault and battery? | The defendant’s conduct is judged based on how a reasonable person would perceive and react to the situation, particularly regarding apprehension and contact. | Reasonable standard = objective judge |
| 19 | Describe the concept of 'intentional infliction of emotional distress' (IIED). | IIED occurs when someone intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress through extreme or outrageous conduct. | Beyond physical harm |
| 20 | How does the doctrine of privilege apply to intentional torts? | Privileges, such as self-defense or official authority, can justify or excuse conduct that would otherwise be tortious. | Privilege = legal excuse |
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