LAW 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Malicious Prosecution, Intentional Tort, False Imprisonment
27 Feb 2015
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Intentional torts involve intentional, rather than merely careless, conduct: not always necessary to prove the defendant intended to either cause harm or commit a tort. For example, if you build a fence on my property, you commit the intentional tort of trespass to land, even if you think that the land belongs to you. Assault and battery: the tort of assault occurs when the defendant intentionally causes the plaintiff to reasonably believe that offensive bodily contact is imminent, the tort is not based on physical contact. It is based on a reasonable belief that such contact will occur. Ex:-you may commit an assault by swinging your fist at me, even if you do not actually make contact. As a result, you may commit an assault by pointing a gun in my direction, even if the gun is not really loaded: the plaintiff must have believed that bodily contact was imminent.
