Intentional Torts
I. Assault and battery
_______ is the intentional, harmful
or offensive contact of another
without his consent.
_______ is an attempt to cause a
harmful or offensive contact with
another if it causes a reasonable
apprehension of immediate battery.
T or F Statements
1. If Mike throws a rock at Stevens and
Stevens is hit by the rock, Mike has not
committed a battery because of no direct
contact between their bodies.
(F----Direct contact between a
wrongdoer’s body and the body of another
is not necessary for a battery to result.)
2. If Mike throws a rock at Stevens, but Peter
is hit by the rock, Mike is not liable to
Peter for battery.
(A wrongdoer who intends to injure one
person, but injures another is also liable to
the person injured despite the absence of

3. Threats of future battery do not
create liability of assault.
4. If A fires a rifle at B from a great
distance and misses him, and B
learns of the attempt on his life only
at a later date, then A is liable to B
for the tort of assault.
5. A’s pointing of the gun at B is an
assault; After firing the gun and the
bullet hits B, then A commits assault
and battery.
II. False Imprisonment
 Definition
False imprisonment is the
intentional unjustified
confinement of another without
his consent.
 This tort protects a person from
loss of liberty and freedom of
movement.
T or F statements
1. In order to prevent A from moving, B
does not threat to harm A but harm A’s
spouse or child instead. So this is not
false imprisonment.
(F– How to make confinement?
Confinement may result from physical
barrier, or use of physical force or the
threat to use of physical force against
the plaintiff. )
2. A confines B in a building by locking one
door, but this building has other
unlocked doors. This does not amount
to false imprisonment.

(T– complete confinement ;
partial confinement )
3. A confines B in a room in the third
story of a building with all doors
locked, only one third-story window
open. Such confinement does not
amount to false imprisonment.
(F– The fact the a means of escape
exists does not render a
confinement partial if if involves
some unreasonable risk of harm to
the plaintiff.)
Most contemporary False
imprisonment cases involve
shoplifting:
(1) The common law is more in favor
of the interest of customers.
The common law held store owners
liable for any torts committed while
detaining a suspected shoplifter if
the investigation revealed that the
detainee was innocent of any
wrongdoing.

(2) Statutes tend to protect the
legitimate interests of store
owners in preventing theft of
their property.
A. Most states have passed
statutes giving store owner a
conditional privilege to stop
persons who they reasonably
believe are shoplifting.
B. The store owner must have
reasonable grounds (probable
cause) to believe the shoplifting has
been committed.
The owner must act in a reasonable
manner and only detain the suspect
for a reasonable length of time.
C. Store owners who act within the
scope of such a statute are not
liable for any torts committed in the
process of detaining a suspected
shoplifter.
Case analysis:
Bonkowski v. Arlan’s Department Store
Facts: the plaintiff, the defendant store, a
private policeman, in the nearby parking
lot, steal costume jewelry…
Procedural history– This case is an appeal
from a jury trial with a verdict for false
arrest and slander
Plaintiff’s claim– torts, damages on false
arrest and slander
Defendant’s claim– to waive the jury’s
verdict and make a new trial
Legal issues:
 Whether the case should be taken
on a new trial?
 What privilege does the defendant
have as a defense in shoplifting
cases involving false arrest?
Reasoning:
 What is the usual privilege the
defendant enjoys under the
common law and the Restatement
of Torts?
What is the justification for it?
 What is the privilege recognized in
this case?
 Give instructions on what the jury
should do on remand of this case
.
Reasoning:
1. Clarify the legal principle governing this
case:
(1) what privilege a merchant enjoys
(2)under what circumstances he enjoys
such privilege
(3)why it is necessary to grand merchant
such privilege
(The appeal court stresses the concept
of privilege in false arrest case involving
shoplifting, whereas the trial court and
the jury made no consideration to this
defense.)
Reasoning:
2. Extend this privilege to the special
circumstances of this case----the
detention of one who has left the
premises but in their immediate
vicinity.
3. Remand the case to the trial court
for a new trial with instruction----it
will be the duty of the jury to decide
(1) whether…and (2) whether…
Decision:
Reversed and remanded for new trial.
Defamation
Defamation refers to unprivileged
publication of false and defamatory
statements concerning another. The
statements must harm the particular
plaintiff’s reputation.
1. Two statements
“ Alfred is a lousy governor.”
“ I think Tony must be a homosexual.”
Which statement is a subject of
defamation?
( statement of opinions
statement of facts)

2. The elements of the tort of defamation
require publication of a defamatory
statement. (T or F)
(1) Communication of the defamatory
statement to one person other than the
person defamed is ordinarily not
sufficient for publication.
(2) One who repeats or republishes a
defamatory statement is liable for
defamation, regardless of whether he
identifies the source of the statement.
3. Libel and Slander
(1) Which category should some new
media, such as radio, television, be
classified into?
Today the great majority of courts treat
broadcast defamation as libel.
(2) Is there any significance to distinguish
libel and slander?
Libel is actionable without any proof of
special damage to the plaintiff.
Slander is generally not actionable
without proof of special damage.
4. Defamation and the constitution
In recent years the Supreme Court has
balanced the conflicting social interests
in a series of important cases.
(1) Under the common law, defendants
were strictly liable for defamatory
statements.
(2) In New York Times v. Sullivan, the court
held that public officials seeking to
recover for defamatory statements
relating to performance of their official
duties must prove actual malice on the
part of a media defendant to recover
any damages.
(3) In Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc, the court
refused to extend the actual malice test
to media defamation of private citizens
who involuntarily became involved in
matters of public concern. Instead,
the court held that :
A. to recover compensatory damages such
person must prove some degree of fault
at least amounting to negligence on the
part of the defendant.
B. to recover punitive damages they must
prove actual malice.
(4) Dun Bradstreet Inc v. Greenmoss
Builders, Inc is a case involving a
private figure plaintiff (a construction
contractor) and defamatory speech
about a matter of purely private
concern (a false credit report). The
court refused to apply the Gertz
standard and upheld a recovery based
on the common law strict liability
standard.
5. Defenses to defamation
(1) ______ is an absolute defense to
defamation. The tort of defamation
requires that a statement as the
basis of a defamation suit be _____
and ______.
( Truth; false and defamatory)
(2) Even where defamatory statements
are false, a defense of _____ may
serve to prevent liability._____ can
be absolute or conditional.
(privilege; privilege)
a. statements made by participants in
judicial proceedings, legislators in
the course of legislative
proceedings, certain executive
officials in the course of their official
duties…
----absolute privilege
b. Statements made by the author for
acting to protect his own legitimate
interests or those of third person.
----conditional privilege
Invasion of the right to privacy
Four distinct behaviors qualify as an
invasion of privacy.
(1) Intrusion on a person’s solitude or
seclusion.
The intrusion may be physical or
nonphysical intrusion.
(2) Public disclosure (publicity) concerning
private facts
A. Truth is not a defense to this type of
invasion of privacy.

B. This tort also conflicts with the
constitutionally protected freedoms of the
press and of speech.
The courts have attempted to balance
these conflicting social interests in
several ways.
First, no liability ordinarily attaches to
publicity concerning matters of public
record or of legitimate public interest.
Second, public figures and public officials
have no right of privacy concerning
information that is reasonably related to
their public life.
(3) Publicity placing a person in a false light
in the public eyes
(4) Appropriation of name or likeness for
commercial purposes

Intentional tort against
property
Trespass to land
Nuisance
Trespass to personal property
Conversion
real property (realty)
1. Property
personal property (personalty)
to land
2. Trespass
to personal property
______is the most common tort that
infringes upon both real and personal
property interests. (Trespass)
A person who ventures onto the land of
another without permission is a ______.
(trespasser)
3. trespass to land / nuisance
(1) Definition
Trespass to land: P7
Nuisance is the unreasonable and
unlawful interference with another
person’s right to the use or enjoyment of
his land.
(2) The traditional view regarding trespass
is that there must be an actual
(physical), tangible interferences.
Nuisance, unlike trespass, does not
necessarily involve any physical
interferences of a person’s property.
(3) Examples
Trespass to land: P7
Nuisance: noise, vibrations, the
projection of light, unpleasant
smell…
4. Trespass to personal property /
conversion
(1) Definition
Trespass to personal property:P7
Conversion is the wrongful and
unlawful exercise of control or
dominion (power) over the personal
property of another.
Conversion deprives the proper
owner of lawful rights in the
property.
Case analysis:
Milk goes to Friendly Motors to ask for a
test-drive of new-brand car. Suppose:
(1) Milk wrecks the car, causing serious
damage to the car;
(2) Milk drives the car across the United
States;
(3) Milk is involved in the fender bender;
(4) Milk keeps the car for eight hours.
Which situations constitute conversion,
and which situations constitute trespass
to personal property?
(2) The difference between conversion and
trespass to personal property is based
on __________________________
(the degree of interference with
another’s property rights).
The factors the courts may consider in
determining the seriousness of
interference are _________________
a. the extent of the harm done to the
property ;
b. the extent and duration of the
interference
T or F for revision:
(1) Nuisance must involve some physical
invasion of a person’s property.
(2) Noise, vibration, unpleasant odors are
examples that could be trespass.
(3) A person cannot be liable for trespass if
the trespass results from his mistaken
belief that his entry is legally justified.
(4) The difference between conversion and
trespass to personal property is based
on the degree of interference with
another’s property right.