Hsp_Mgmt 1133 1st EditionExam # 3 Study Guide Lecture 20: Intentional tortsWhat is an intentional tort? Define vicarious liability. What does Respondeat superior mean? Describe the four different intentional torts: assault and battery; intentional infliction of emotional distress; defamation; privacy/concept laws.Tort- a civil wrong (not criminal) involving a violation of a duty or standard of care that one person has to another Intentional tort- defendant purposefully did something to harm another person; frequently a criminal act and can result in criminal charges- How do intentional torts differ from negligence?:o Plaintiffs can claim punitive damages which are usually unavailable in a negligence caseo Must prove that the defendant acted intentionally o Intentional torts do not allow for vicarious liability to be imposed upon a corporate defendant for the wrongful intentional acts of their employeeso Most intentional torts are not covered by standard liability insurance- Vicarious liability- liability through another; tortfeasor (person who committed the wrongdoing) is always personally liable Respondeat superior- “let the master answer for the acts of the servant”- Makes the business liable for the employees wrongdoingsSpecific Intentional Torts:Assault and battery- civil sideAssault- placing someone in fear or apprehension of a harmful conduct- Ex: pointing a gun at someone, swinging your fist and missing a person, raising your fist at someoneBattery- physically harming someone- Ex: shooting a gun and hitting someone, swinging your fist and hitting someone- Bouncers- do not have a right to initiate the use of force, they cannot be the first mover, and cannot strike the first blow, but CAN react with force if confronted with ito Also cannot go overboard with the use of force or it could be a suit for battery- For assault and battery cases- the victim may pursue civil damages for their injurieso Compensatory or actual damages- are meant to compensate for the injury sustained (ex: money for medical bills and income loss)o Nominal damages- a small sum, which act as an acknowledgement that a personhas suffered a technical invasion of rightso Punitive damages- awarded to punish the wrongdoer Intentional infliction of emotional distress- aka “the tort of outrage”- Extreme outrageous words or conduct on the part of the defendant that causes severe emotional distress to the plaintiff; must be very serious and extreme- Ex: Westboro Baptist Church- extreme hatred for homosexuals, travels to various events and pickets saying things like “God hates fags”o They did this at a funeral for a homosexual soldier and the parents sued the church, supreme court said the speech of the picketers was extreme and hostile but they were exercising their free speech right, picketing is a right under the firstamendmentDefamation- libel and slander- Defamation- intentionally injuring someone’s reputation- Libel- in print or writing- Slander- spoken defamation- Plaintiff who wishes to sue for defamation has the burden of proving four elements:o False statement of fact- whatever is said must be false (not true at all) Truth is a defense to defamationo Fact Opinions do not count; ex: can’t say something like “I thought the service was bad at this restaurant” because that is an opiniono Publication- must be shared with a third party somehow (verbal or in writing)o Must injure their reputation in some way- As a result of New York Times vs Sullivan, a public official or public figure suing a media defendant for defamation must prove that the defendant acted with “actual malice” in order to prevail- The status of plaintiff and defendant does matter. If you’re a public figure you have a higher burden or proof in defamation casesPrivacy/concept laws- Four ways to sue for the invasion of privacy tort:o Commercial use of name and likeness- right of publicity says that all people canuse their name for a commercial useo Seclusion/private space- intruding upon another person’s solitude or private affairs, physically or otherwise, is subject to liability if this intrusion would be considered highly offensive to another person Case example: Erin Andrews- female sports personality- was stalked by a man who took naked videos of her through her hotel room peephole and posted the tape online- Was the hotel liable for this since they gave the man her room # and let him book the room next to her? Yes, hotel should not release info about a guest to an outsider unless the guest gives them permissiono Public disclosure of private facts- information is publicly revealed that is not of public concern and that a reasonable person would find offensive if made publico False light- public disclosure of information that is misleading but not entirely false Employee privacy- Phone calls at work- does the employer have the right to listen to your phone calls at work? They have the right to listen for a minute to see if it is personal or company related. If you’re on a company phone call then your employer has the right to listen to that; if it is a personal phone call then no; but the employer can prohibit personal calls at work; also has the right to record the calls- Email- same as telephone- Computer use- if you’re using their computer then they have a right to track it; if you’re on your personal social networking pages too much then they can prohibit it or take action against it- Social networking- if you’re in a state that doesn’t prohibit it, a business can ask you for your Facebook password and you have to give it to them- Appearance codes/Personal conduct codes- can a business have a dress code or say your hair has to be a certain way/no tattoos/no piercings/etc? They do have a right to set a dress and appearance code if they want to False Imprisonment- Wrongful confinement of someone without justification- usually happens when a businessthinks someone has stolen from them so they stop them when they’re leaving and ask questions- Shopkeeper’s privilege- a business owner can stop and detain people who are suspected of theft and question them for a brief period of timeLouise Ogborn incident- strip search prank calls- Ogborn vs Mcdonalds- Unknown man calls McDonalds and convinces the manager that he is a police officer investigating a theft and an employee in their store is stealing or hasdrugs on them and gets the manager to “search” the employee by taking off all the