Two examples of intentional and unintentional torts An example of an from HCM 337 at Colorado Technical University
Jul 05, 2021 · Frequent examples of an intentional tort are intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, harmful or offensive contact (i.e. battery), trespass onto someone else’s property, attempted battery or assault), offensive touching like abuse, and if fraud occurs.
In an intentional tort, the tortfeasor intends the consequences of his or her act, or knew with substantial certainty that certain consequences would result from the act. This intent can be transferred. For example, if someone swings a baseball bat at you, you see it coming and duck, and the baseball bat continues to travel and hits the person ...
Jan 14, 2021 · Torts Ch. 2 8/31 Intentional Torts Intentional Tort to Persons or Property Section 1 BATTERY A. Elements A person is subject to liability for battery when: 1. He acts intending to cause (mental state) a harmful OR, offensive contact, AND 2. Contact 3. [P] is physically harmed or reasonably offended. Contact which is offensive to a reasonable sense of personal dignity is …
In an intentional tort, the tortfeasor intends the consequences of his or her act, or knew with substantial certainty that certain consequences would result from the act. This intent can be transferred. For example, if someone swings a baseball bat at you, you see it coming and duck, and the baseball bat continues to travel and hits ...
Businesses often make claims about their products in marketing their products to the public. If these claims are false, then the business may be liable for the tort of misrepresentation, known in some states as fraud. Fraud requires the tortfeasor to misrepresent facts (not opinions) with knowledge that they are false or with reckless disregard for the truth. An “innocent” misrepresentation, such as someone who lies without knowing he or she is lying, is not enough—the defendant must know he or she is lying. Fraud can arise in any number of business situations, such as lying on your résumé to gain employment, lying on a credit application to obtain credit or to rent an apartment, or in product marketing. Here, there is a fine line between puffery, or seller’s talk, and an actual lie. If an advertisement claims that a particular car is the “fastest new car you can buy,” then fraud liability arises if there is in fact a car that travels faster. On the other hand, an advertisement that promises “unparalleled luxury” is only puffery since it is opinion. Makers of various medicinal supplements and vitamins are often the target of fraud lawsuits for making false claims about their products.
Restraining or confining a person against his or her will and without justification. For treatment of physical injuries and lost time at work. Intentional infliction of emotional distress. Engaging in outrageous conduct that’s likely to cause extreme emotional distress to the party toward whom the conduct is directed.
The detention must be reasonable, however. Store employees must not use excessive force in detaining the suspect, and the grounds, manner, and time of the detention must be reasonable or the store may be liable for false impris onment. Intentional torts can also be committed against property.
In addition to the physical pain that accompanies being strangled by a coworker, the victim may also feel a great deal of fear . That fear is something we expect to never have to feel, and that fear creates the basis for the tort of assault. An assault is an intentional, unexcused act that creates in another person a reasonable apprehension or fear of immediate harmful or offensive contact. Note that actual fear is not required for assault—mere apprehension is enough. For example, have you ever gone to sit down on a chair only to find out that one of your friends has pulled the chair away, and therefore you are about to fall down when you sit? That sense of apprehension is enough for assault. Similarly, a diminutive ninety-pound woman who attempts to hit a burly three-hundred-pound police officer with her bare fists is liable for assault if the police officer feels apprehension, even if fear is unlikely or not present. Physical injuries aren’t required for assault. It’s also not necessary for the tortfeasor to intend to cause apprehension or fear. For example, if someone pointed a very realistic-looking toy pistol at a stranger and said “give me all your money” as a joke, it would still constitute assault if a reasonable person would have perceived fear or apprehension in that situation. The intentional element of assault exists here, because the tortfeasor intended to point the realistic-looking toy pistol at the stranger.
Another intentional tort is defamation, which is the act of wrongfully hurting a living person’s good reputation. Oral defamation is considered slander, while written defamation is libel. To be liable for defamation, the words must be published to a third party. There is no liability for defamatory words written in a secret diary, for example, but there is liability for defamatory remarks left on a Facebook wall. Issues sometimes arise with regard to celebrities and public figures, who often believe they are defamed by sensationalist “news” organizations that cover celebrity gossip. The First Amendment provides strong protection for these news organizations, and courts have held that public figures must show actual malice before they can win a defamation lawsuit, which means they have to demonstrate the media outlet knew what it was publishing was false or published the information with reckless disregard for the truth. This is a much higher standard than that which applies to ordinary citizens, so public figures typically have a difficult time winning defamation lawsuits. Of course, truth is a complete defense to defamation.
In a sense, IIED can be thought of as battery to emotions, but a great deal of caution is warranted here. Many people are battered emotionally every day to varying degrees. Someone may cut you off in traffic, leading you to curse at him or her in anger. A stranger may cut in line in front of you, leading you to exclaim in indignation. A boyfriend or girlfriend may decide to break off a relationship with you, leading to hurt feelings and genuine grief or pain. None of these situations, nor any of the normal everyday stresses of day-to-day living, are meant to be actionable in tort law. The insults, indignities, annoyances, or even threats that we experience as part of living in modern society are to be expected. Instead, IIED is meant to protect only against the most extreme of behaviors. In fact, for a plaintiff to win an IIED case, the plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant acted in such a manner that if the facts of the case were told to a reasonable member of the community, that community member would exclaim that the behavior is “outrageous.” Notice that the standard here is objective; it’s not enough for the plaintiff to feel that the defendant has acted outrageously. In some states, the concern that this tort could be abused and result in frivolous litigation has led to the additional burden that the plaintiff must demonstrate some physical manifestation of the psychological harm (such as sleeplessness or depression) to win any recovery.
Intentional tort occurs when a person intends to perform an action that causes harm to another. For intentional tort to be proven, it is not required for the person causing the harm to intentionally cause an actual injury, they must only intend to perform the act. For instance, if a person intentionally frightens a person with a bad heart, ...
Intent is defined as acting with purpose or having knowledge that the act in question can cause injury or harm to another person. If the element of intent is not in place, it can be referred to simply as a tort.
Some crimes fall under both categories of tort law. Battery is just one instance an intentional tort that is also a crime. In this case, the injured party may choose to file a civil lawsuit seeking damages from the defendant, whether or not the accused person has been found guilty in criminal court.
A child named John kicks Adam during recess at school and the kick causes significant damage as Adam already suffers from a disability. John does not know that Adam suffers a disability, but he does know that kicking someone will cause discomfort. This constitutes intentional tort since John “intended” to kick Adam knowing the “act” could cause harm. If John had not kicked Adam, the “actual cause” of the injury would not have occurred.#N#Bob and Rick get into an argument and Bob punches Rick in the face, breaking his nose. Bob feels guilty because, even though he was mad and intended to hit Rick, he did not intend to break his nose. Rick sues Bob for medical expenses related to the injury and wins the suit. The judge rules that, even though Bob did not intend to break Rick’s nose, he did intend to hit him and he had the knowledge that hitting another person could cause injury.
As a result of Brian’s chair-pulling, Ruth fell and broke her hip. Ruth filed a lawsuit against Brian’s family stating that he had acted intentionally, causing her personal injury. The court determined that, even though Brian did not intend to cause an injury, the act did result in the broken hip, and awarded Ruth $11,000 dollars in damages. Brian’s family appealed on the basis that 5 year-old children cannot be liable for intentional tort. The court ruled that children can indeed be held liable and that the element of intent is in place if the person knew with certainty that the act carried a risk of injury.
A wrongful or unlawful act or infringement of rights which lead to civil legal liability. A civil wrong that occurs when a person causes harm to another with knowledge that harm or injury can occur.
Helen Everly, a resident at the Beatrice Hover Personal Care Center, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. During her time at the facility, Helen struck a personal caregiver named Sherry Muniz. As a result of the attack, Muniz brought a lawsuit against Everly’s granddaughter, Barbara White. The jury in the case found White not guilty, as Everly could not intend to injure the caregiver due to her mental incapacity.