10.3 - Intentional Torts

Intentional Torts

So far, the discussion around tort law has been focused on unintentional torts.  But what remedy could a person have if they were intentionally harmed in some way?  Tort law also provides a remedy for people who suffer harm from an intentional tort.  Intentional torts are actions intended to cause injury to others.  This definition of intentional torts sounds almost like a definition of a crime.  Many examples of intentional torts do resemble different crimes.  Consider these examples where intentional torts look much like crimes:

• If a person hits another person, then it's ...

  • ... the crime of 'assault'; but also ...

  • ... the tort of 'battery'.

• If a person holds someone else against their will, then it's ...

  • ... the crime of 'forcible confinement'; but also ...

  • ... the tort of 'false imprisonment'.

• If a person breaks into a house with the intent to steal, then it's ...

  • ... the crime of 'break and enter'; but also ...

  • ... the tort of 'trespass to land'.

• If a person takes someone else's belongings, then it's ...

  • ... the crime of 'theft'; but also ...

  • ... the tort of 'conversion, or trespass to goods'.

• If a person kills another person, then it's ...

  • ... the crime of 'homicide'; but also ...

  • ... the tort of 'wrongful death'.

In order for an intentional tort to be proven in court, the plaintiff must prove that the act was intentional and not negligent.  Intent here refers to the desire to commit an act for a specific purpose.  Also, the plaintiff must prove that the intentional act of the defendant caused some form of harm or injury.  Specific intentional torts are introduced in the next section.

Intentional Interference With the Person

There are a number of different intentional torts resulting in harm or injury to the person.  The first one to consider is the tort of assault.  Assault is the offensive conduct that causes a reasonable apprehension of imminent harm.  In other words, the tort of assault occurs when a person is threatened.  Related to the tort of assault is the tort of battery.  This is the intentional, unauthorized physical contact that the victim considers harmful or offensive.  The tort of assault is often followed by the tort of battery - hence the expression, “assault and battery”.  The third intentional tort in this category is the tort of sexual assault.  Similar to the crime of the same name, this tort involves uninvited sexual touching.

The fourth intentional tort to consider is medical battery.  This occurs when a medical practitioner performs the wrong medical procedure, or performs a procedure without the patient’s consent.  If a patient is unconscious, then the consent is implied if the procedure is done to save their life.  Intentional tort number five is false imprisonment, and it occurs with the detention of a person without consent, and without legal authority.  It should be noted that ‘false’ in this situation means ‘wrongful’.  Malicious prosecution is the sixth tort to consider, and it involves the wrongful prosecution of a person without reasonable grounds and probable cause.  Number seven is the intentional tort of nervous shock and mental suffering.  This tort occurs when someone is deliberately shocked in such a severe manner that there is physical or mental harm.  The shocking conduct must be intentional and severe, and the victim must be able to prove physical and/or mental harm.  The final intentional tort against the person is the tort of invasion of privacy.  This tort involves the intentional,  uninvited and unauthorized intrusion into another’s private materials or space.

Defenses to Interference With the Person

Torts of interference with the person have a number of available defenses for the defendant.  First is the defense of consent.  This is the simple permission that was granted for a specific act.  Second, the defense of self-defense is the legal right to use reasonable force to protect oneself against injury from another.  One can quickly see that this defense is similar to that used in criminal law.  Related to self-defense is defense of a third party.  This defense includes the right to use reasonable force to protect someone else from injury.  This is essentially self-defense of another person.  The fourth and final defense in this category is legal authority.  This one is the right given by law to engage in conduct that would otherwise be considered a tort against the physical person.  Examples here might include typical daily job functions of emergency personnel, mall security, etc.

Intentional Interference With Property

People have the right to enjoy their property, so the following torts typically involve the interruption of such enjoyment.  This category of intentional torts is often separated into trespass to land, and trespass to chattels.  In tort law, the term trespass refers to an unlawful interference with the person, property, or rights of another person.

Consider first the category of trespass to land.  The first tort to examine here is the intentional tort of nuisance.  This tort occurs when there’s unreasonable and substantial interference with someone’s right to enjoyment of property.  Examples of nuisance might include loud noise, construction vibrations, etc.  The second tort is public nuisance, and this is the unreasonable and substantial interference with interests that affect the community at large, such as public health and safety.  Examples here might include chemical spills that pollute drinking water, vandalizing public transit rails, etc.

The second category is trespass to chattels.  A chattel is a legal term referring to moveable personal property.  In other words, chattels essentially refers to a person’s ‘stuff’.  The tort of conversion is the unauthorized and substantial interference with another’s property, depriving the owner of its satisfactory use.  This tort may include permanently taking someone’s personal property, or just interfering with it for a while.

Defenses to Interference With Property

Torts of intentional  interference with property have some of the same defenses available as do torts involving persons.  For example, the defenses of consent and legal authority apply in these situations as well.  Also, the defense of statutory authority may be available in these torts.  This defense is based on legislation that grants someone authority to perform an act that could create a nuisance.  For example, the city council has the authority to permit the building of a new airport, even if the noise becomes a nuisance for residents living nearby.

Defamation of Character

The third, and final, category of intentional torts to discuss here is that which defames a person’s character.  Defamation is the injury to a person’s reputation or good name by slander or libel.  The defamation must include false and malicious information that causes injury.  One kind of intentional defamation tort is slander.  Slander is a defaming oral statement or gesture.  The other kind of defamation tort is libel, and this is defamation in a permanent form, such as in written or recorded statements.  Again, remember that any defamation tort must include information that is false, malicious, and harmful.

Defenses to Defamation of Character

Defenses to defamation torts typically focus on disproving the ‘false’ and/or ‘malicious’ requirements of defamation.  The first defense here is simply called truth, and it is the defense to defamation that the comments alleged to be defamatory are verified and established facts.  The second defense is fair comment, and this one argues that the comments made were honest and made without malice.  In this context, malice refers to any improper or ulterior motive for publishing a defamatory statement.  Defense number three is called absolute privilege, and this is the protection from liability from statements made in Parliament, in a legislature or a courtroom, at a military hearing, or before a tribunal.  The final defense included here is that of qualified privilege.  Qualified privilege is the protection from liability from statements made in certain situations as long as the statements are made without malice.  For example, an employer that gives a poor reference for an ex-employee is protected from defamation, provided that what he or she communicates is both truthful and not malicious.

Summary

Tort law provides for remedies in unintentional and intentional tort cases.  Intentional torts often resemble criminal charges, but are dealt with in civil, rather than criminal court.  Although a defendant might conceivably be charged in criminal court AND be sued in civil court for the same actions.  In order for an intentional tort to be proven to be an intentional tort, the plaintiff must prove that the act was intentional, and not just negligent.  The defendant has a myriad of defenses available to them - each of which are intended to disprove either the intent or the causation elements of the wrongful act.