BMGT380 Intentional Torts Chapter 6 Tort A civil wrong that is not a breach of contract Tort Law provides for civil liability against those who commit torts Plaintiff sues somebody for a tort need to prove by Preponderance of the Evidence What can you get if you win a tort Compensatory damages include a variety of things o Damages for physical injury o Medical expenses that you incurred o Money for emotional distress If defendants behavior was especially bad you can get punitive damages Typically say there are 2 functions of punitive damages o To punish the person who engaged in the bad behavior o Designed to deter additional bad behavior for defendant and others who are aware of the case 4 Kinds of Wrongful Conduct 1 Intentional Conduct a Intent the desire to cause certain consequences or a substantial certainty that those consequences will result from ones conduct i Ex set off an explosion 10yds from someone s house You don t necessarily have a desire to cause damage but there is a substantial certainty that damages will result Whenever you re looking at an exam question that deals with this chapter ask yourself was there intent If not then the answer is almost always that no tort occurred 2 Recklessness A conscious indifference between known and substantial risk of harm created by ones behavior i Ex drunk driving occurring as a result 3 Negligence failure to use reasonable care with harm to another person i Don t stop at a traffic stop sign resulting in an accident 4 Strict Liability liability regardless of fault a Plaintiff doesn t have to prove any kind of wrongful conduct on part of the defendant and still win i Ex Damages resulting in operations of nuclear reactors ii People nearby can get radiation poisoning and die survivors can sue even if the operators did nothing wrong Law will make person engaging in really hazardous activities liable Torts Involving Interference with Personal Rights 7 Criminal offense and civil offense can be processed criminally and sued civilly 1 Battery Intentional and harmful or offensive touching of someone else without his her consent o Harmful if it produces bodily injury o Offensive culturally based people have different ideas o Touching does not require direct contact between plaintiff and defendant ex poison Transferred Intent ex a guy meant to punch one person but misses and hits someone else by accident Is he liable for hitting the other person if he had no intent YES because transferred intent Consent o Can be inferred from voluntary participation in an activity but only as to contacts that are the normal consequences of the activity Ex Professional boxing s m relationship hockey gray area how much violence do you consent to The intentional attempt or offer to cause harmful or offensive contact with another person if that attempt or offer causes a reasonable apprehension of immediate battery in the other persons mind o Difference between battery in the case of battery there s actual contact Assault doesn t have to have contact as long as you reasonably believe that contact is imminent o Don t have to be fearful in order to sue for assault as long as you reasonably believe you ll be struck 2 Assault 3 Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Conduct is so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community o Conduct must be outrageous o Emotional distress must be severe o Defendant must have intentionally inflicted the distress to be liable 4 False Imprisonment Intentional confinement of another person for an appreciable time without his content o Few minutes would suffice o Confinement physical barriers threat of physical force or threat of physical harm to another person Ex you stay here or I ll harm your wife child etc o Confinement has to be complete Multiple exits but I can escape through one of them then there s no false imprisonment If you don t know about a way out but there is one than that s false imprisonment You confine me outside but block the doors and I don t know I ve been confined is it false imprisonment Courts say NO because you don t know you re being confined o Consent under duress you have been falsely imprisoned 5 Defamation Protects individuals interests in his or her reputation Unprivileged publication of false and defamatory statements concerning somebody else o Statements of opinion don t qualify as defamation o Has to be a statement of fact Distinction between Libel vs Slander Libel refers to written or printed defamation o Statement made on radio TV or internet is Libel Slander refers to oral defamation Matters because depending which it is there s different things you have to prove o Libel plaintiff can recover without proving actual damage to his her reputation special damages o Slander have to prove actual reputation was ruined unless it s slander per se Slander per se don t have to prove reputation was injured o The defendant goes around saying the plaintiff has committed a o Goes around saying person X has a loathsome disease assuming crime of moral turpitude ex fraud or blackmail it s false ex STD o Making an adverse reflection on plaintiffs fitness to conduct his business trade or professions ex unhappy with test scores tell everyone professor never passed the bar exam o Accuse someone of serious sexual misconduct Ex accuse married woman of cheating on husband man of being gay Elements of Defamation o Defendant made a false and defamatory statement o Statement has to be about the plaintiff A fictional account can be defamatory if a reasonable reader can identify who it was about Can sue if you re a member of a group if its small enough if you as an individual can be recognized Corporations can sue o Statement has to be published Transmission to one other person that s not the plaintiff or defendant If you repeat a defamatory statement to another person then you can be sued because you republished the statement Library is not liable in regard to content they carry Communications Decency Act both Internet service providers and website operators are exempt from liability on defamation and invasion and privacy can t be sued in civil court o The statement cannot be privileged Absolute privilege complete defense and the defendant always wins Situations of absolute privilege 1 Statement made by a participant in a judicial proceeding and witnesses 2 During legislative proceedings
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