Torts Midterm With Complete Solution
2024/2025 Update
2 Main Goals of Tort Law ANS✔✔ 1. Compensate Victims
2. Deter wrongdoers by holding them accountable
The Culpability Spectrum ANS✔✔ No Fault -> Negligence -> Intent
Sources of Tort Law ANS✔✔ 1. Common law (cases)
2. Statutes
3. The Restatement
Cause of action/Claim ANS✔✔ A specific wrong (such as battery or defamation) that, if proven, gives
plaintiff the right to a remedy (usually money damages) in civil court.
Element ANS✔✔ A requirement—something that must be proven to support a cause of action or
affirmative defense.
Prima facie case ANS✔✔ The specific elements that a plaintiff must prove to support a cause of action.
Affirmative defense ANS✔✔ A defense that releases defendant from liability even though plaintiff has
proven all the elements of the prima facie case
Note: Defendant has the burden of proving all of the elements of the affirmative defense
The 3 Torts ANS✔✔ 1.) intentional -purpose
,2.)negligence -ignore
3.) strict liability-dangerous
What is a tort? ANS✔✔ a wrongful act or an infringement of a right (other than under contract) leading
to civil legal liability.
Intentional Torts ANS✔✔ Directed against a person:
battery
assault
false imprisonment
intentional infliction of ED
Directed against property:
trespass to land
conversion
trespass to chattels
Battery Elements ANS✔✔ 1. Intent to bring about a harmful or offensive bodily contact (can also be
expressed as intent to bring about an unauthorized bodily contact)
AND
2. Harmful or offensive bodily contact occurs
Definition of intent for all the intentional torts: ANS✔✔ Intent is the desire (purpose) to bring about a
consequence OR acting with knowledge that the consequence is substantially certain to result.
What interest is protected by battery law? ANS✔✔ The interest in bodily integrity; self-determination;
right to control one's own body; autonomy and dignity
, Does battery law require intent to cause bodily injury? ANS✔✔ No. Intent to cause a harmful OR
OFFENSIVE bodily contact.
What does offensive mean? ANS✔✔ Offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity
Distinguish intent from negligence ANS✔✔ Intent
- where the known danger ceases to be only a foreseeable risk which a reasonable person would avoid
and becomes in the mind of the actor a substantial certainty.
-Look to the state of mind of the actor. Subjective.
Negligence
-conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of harm.
-Measured by an objective standard.
Doctrine of transferred intent ANS✔✔ A defendant who intends any of the intentional torts except IIED
and accomplishes any of them is liable.
Remember: in order to apply the doctrine you first have to find tortious intent.
Assault Elements ANS✔✔ 1. Intent to bring about apprehension of a battery, AND
2. Reasonable apprehension of an imminent battery
Meaning of imminent? ANS✔✔ Without significant delay
Is apprehension synonymous with fear? ANS✔✔ No. Plaintiff need not be fearful. Plaintiff need only
apprehend or anticipate an imminent battery, not fear it.
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