Advising Intentional Tort Victims with Dedication and Compassion

Battery is the legal word used to refer to hitting someone or touching them in an offensive and nonconsensual manner. This physical contact can be direct or via an object intended for the target. In order for it to be confirmed battery the defendant must make physical contact with either the person, or an object attached to the person, such as a coat, purse, chair etc. 

If battery is attempted or threatened that is legally considered an assault. The legal tort of assault protects a person from being put in fear of physical harm. If there is actual physical contact then it is considered battery. The terms assault and battery are different in personal injury law than they are in criminal law. There are specific definitions for those charges as it pertains to criminal law. 

False imprisonment is confining a person without having the legal authority to do so. You cannot detain or restrain a person’s movement without justification, authority, or consent. In order to be qualified as false imprisonment the victim must not have given consent, be aware of or harmed by the confinement and be unaware of reasonable escape possibilities.

This refers to the intentional damage or interference with another party’s possession or ownership of property. This must be significant enough that the perpetrator is forced to pay the complete value of the property that has been harmed.

Fraud is the legal term for one party lying to another. If a person intentionally makes false statements to cause another party to behave a particular way or relinquish something of value then fraud has been committed. To win a fraud case a plaintiff generally must be able to prove the defendant knew they were giving false information, knew the other party would believe said information and rely on it and that the plaintiff could be harmed by this information exchange. 

This is similar to fraud in that defamation is the act of making a false statement with intent to harm a person’s reputation. This can be done verbally, which is considered Slander, or via published statement which is considered Libel. 

Property owners legally have an inherent right to the exclusive use of their private property. If a person enters that property without permission thus interfering with the property owners rights than that party has trespassed. Generally trespass is used to refer to:

1. When a person purposely enters someone else’s land without permission.

2. They remain on the land without extended permission, even if initially allowed.

3. A person places an item, or refuses to move an item, from someone else’s land.

In all of these cases it is only considered trespassing if the person is intentionally going on to another’s land without consent.  

The term chattel indicates personal property, for example a vehicle, a piece of jewelry or a pet. A defendant has committed trespass to chattel if they intentionally take an item of property from another without consent. In order to be taken to court you must prove that you or your property was harmed as a result of this action. 

This occurs when a party acts in a manner that is extreme and outrageous which is meant to cause mental anguish and distress. The conduct must be deemed outrageous which means a reasonable person would find the behavior distressing in similar circumstances. The standards for this behavior can be lowered if the perpetrator is aware that the intended target would be particularly sensitive. In order to receive damages in an IIED case the plaintiff needs to show actual physical manifestations of distress or non-psychological damage.