Torts Outline - Lecture notes 1-25 PDF

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Torts at Georgetown Law with Professor Spann. This is a full outline to the course, each blue heading corresponds with a lecture. ...

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Table of Contents INCLUDE PROXIMATE CAUSE!!!!!!!!!!.......................................................................................3 Introduction:...........................................................................................................................3 Intentional Torts:.....................................................................................................................4 Intent:.....................................................................................................................................4 Battery:...................................................................................................................................5 Assault:...................................................................................................................................6 False Imprisonment:................................................................................................................6 Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress:.............................................................................7 Umbrella Torts:.......................................................................................................................8 Defenses/Privileges to Intentional Torts..................................................................................8 Consent:..................................................................................................................................8 Self Defense:...........................................................................................................................9 Defense of Others:.................................................................................................................10 Defense of Property:..............................................................................................................10 Public/Private Necessity:.......................................................................................................10 Negligence: Unintentional Fault............................................................................................11 Breach of Duty/Special Circumstances:..................................................................................12 Emergencies:....................................................................................................................................12 Custom:............................................................................................................................................13 Physical Abilities:.............................................................................................................................13 Mental Abilities:...............................................................................................................................13 Age:..................................................................................................................................................14 Standard of Care for Professionals:..................................................................................................14 People who are bad at stuff:............................................................................................................14 Negligence Per Se:............................................................................................................................14 Res Ipsa Loquitur:.............................................................................................................................15

Causation:.............................................................................................................................16 Multiple Causation:...............................................................................................................17 Proximate Cause:..................................................................................................................18

2 FORESEEABILITY...............................................................................................................................18 SUPERSEDING/SUPERVENING/INTERVENING CAUSES......................................................................19 RISK RULE.........................................................................................................................................19

Injury/Damages....................................................................................................................21 Special Duties of Care:...........................................................................................................23 Misfeasance and Nonfeasance:........................................................................................................23 Economic Loss..................................................................................................................................25 Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress:........................................................................................25 Unborn Children:..............................................................................................................................26 Owners and occupiers of Land:........................................................................................................27

Affirmative Defenses:............................................................................................................27 Contributory Negligence:.......................................................................................................27 Comparative Fault:................................................................................................................28 Assumption of Risk:...............................................................................................................29 Express:............................................................................................................................................29 Implied.............................................................................................................................................29

Mitigation:............................................................................................................................30 Joint Tortfeasors:...................................................................................................................31 Respondeat Superior:.......................................................................................................................31 Joint and Several Liability vs. Comparative Fault..............................................................................31

Strict Liability (No Fault Liability)...........................................................................................33 Animals:...........................................................................................................................................35 Abnormally Dangerous Activities:....................................................................................................35

Strict Products Liability:.........................................................................................................36 Information Defect:..........................................................................................................................36 Manufacturing Defect:.....................................................................................................................37 Design Defect:..................................................................................................................................37 Comparative Fault:...........................................................................................................................38 Proximate Cause:.............................................................................................................................39 Insurance:........................................................................................................................................39

Torts Outline:

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INCLUDE PROXIMATE CAUSE!!!!!!!!!! Introduction: Torts and Tort Law: Definition of tort:

Wrongful Act

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Injury

Types of Torts: 1. Intentional Torts 2. Negligence 3. Strict Liability Act must be wrongful…. Strict liability usually not sufficient. Something needs to make the injury-causing action wrongful to qualify as a tort. Objectives: Primary Objective of Tort Law: Compensation. Shift the Loss from the victim to the tortfeasor. Restore Status Quo (Put victim back in original position) Secondary Objective: Create incentives (to behave) and deterrents (from behaving badly) Doctrinal Ambiguity: You can interpret doctrine in several ways- use various strategies to manipulate ambiguous rules to create impression that the outcomes they favor are more regular. Instrumental Analysis: Why do we have this rule? What are we trying to accomplish? Then resolve the doctrinal ambiguity in the way that benefits the goal of the rule itself. Shift Level of Generality: Baseline Shift: When does an event start? Flattening curve of incentive People can only be incentivized so much Economic efficiency: Which approach is most efficient economically? Common Carrier: Don’t forget. Types of Recovery: 1. Compensatory Damages: (Reliance Damages) Compensate the loss. Pecuniary and non-pecuniary 2. Punitive Damages 3. Equitable Relief

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Appellate courts only judge on law: not fact. Fact is the province of the jury. Rule of Law v. Equity: Rule of Law: - Stare Decisis. - Apply general principals of established law from other cases, arrive at holding. - Decisions made by the time-tested LEGAL SYSTEM…. Not judge/jury’s prejudice/predisposition…. Law is more equal. Equity: - Do what’s fair, do what’s right, do what’s equitable. - Avoid injustice and inflexibility that comes from law. Courts favor Law over Equity and will only give equitable relief when legal relief is insufficient Objective Standard: Reasonable person under the circumstances. Manipulate what “circumstances” count.

Intentional Torts: Prima Facie Elements of Intentional Torts: 1. Intent 2. Impact 3. Harm

Intent: Satisfying intent element of prima facie case: Single Intent: Only need the intent to cause the impact/contact. (don’t need intent cause the harm). This isn’t just abstract intention to do an action (like raising leg), but intent to kick/cause impact. But under single intent, no intent for that contact to harm. Courts and restatements lean toward only needing to show single intent. Dual Intent: Need intent to cause both the impact AND harm. Intent to contact/impact means…. - Must either explicitly intend the contact….. OR - Start a chain of events that a reasonable person is be substantially certain will result in the contact. (Garratt v. Dailey) (a prank mentality can satisfy dual intent) Objective standard.

5 Intent: Garratt v. Dailey (1955 pg.9) Facts: 5-year-old pulls chair out from Plaintiff as she sat down A person must be substantially certain that an action will lead to a chain of events resulting in a harmful or offensive contract. (constructive intent in battery). Intent and mistakes… Ranson v. Kitner (1889 pg. 19) Facts: D shot P’s dog while they were wolf-hunting, believing in good faith the dog was a wolf. Even when acting in good faith, you are still liable for damages caused by your mistakes Transferred Intent…. Intent transfers across victims, but also across all intentional torts. Talmage v. Smith (1894 pg. 19) Facts: Boys trespassing- D threw stick at one boy, hit the eye of another boy. Intent transfers from one victim to another, and from one tort to another. Intent is satisfied with target one Impact element is satisfied with victim If you intend to assault A but you hit B, take the intent for the assault and transfer to intent to batter. 3 types of transferred intent: 1. “unintended victim” 2. Intent to commit one form of tort proves intent to commit all five (intent to batter also proves intent to trespass on land) 3. Mistakenly believing the victim is someone else. Tricky Question: What if (as in self-defense), intent for assault is considered reasonable… can you transfer it to battery which is considered unreasonable? (argue either side)

Battery: An intentional, harmful contact. Sec. 101-103 3rdrestatement Prima Facie Case: 1. Intent Need intent to cause contact with the person. Don’t need intent to harm. 2. Contact - Don’t need physical contact- it’s sufficient to start a chain of events that with substantial certainty will lead to the harmful contact. You can slap a plate from the hand. 3. Harm/Offense - Harmful - Offensive o Offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity

6 o Highly sensitive to unusually sensitive personal dignity and actor knew or had reason to know. (This only applies if not against public policy or unduly burdensome) Brzoska v. Olson (1995 pg. 27) Facts: HIV dentist, patients suffered “mental anguish” from fear of contraction (battery) Contact element: Satisfied (don’t have to know your contact is offensive to be held liable) BUT No harmful/offensive contact because the apprehension wasn’t reasonable. Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc. (1967 pg. 32) Facts: D snatched plate out of P’s hands (P was black) Physical contact isn’t necessary for battery. Plate is extension of body.

Assault: ALWAYS BRNIG UP MERE WORDS Intentional infliction of the apprehension of an imminent battery. Battery causes a physical contact….. assault touches the mind. Battery and assault are separate- can have one without the other. 1. Intent a. Intent can be actually intending to cause a battery….or intent to put someone in imminent apprehension of such a battery 2. Contact: Apprehension of Imminent Battery a. Imminent v Future: i. Threat to do something in the immediate future is assault ii. Future threat is not assault. Mere Word Exception: Mere words of a threat don’t constitute assault w/out actions or context to back them up. Ex. ‘Give me your wallet.” Not assault. “Give me your wallet” while brandishing a knife- implied threat from context. Assault. 3. Harm: The apprehension 2nd restatement number? Western Union Telegraph co. v. Hill (1933 pg.9) Facts: D told P he would fix her clock if she allowed him to love and pet her. He reached for her. This is assault. Employer of D not liable under respondeat superior: just because action was committed during employment doesn’t make the action in scope of agent’s authority. D acted to fulfill own desires, NOT to further business of company.

False Imprisonment: Intentional infliction of the sense of confinement 1. Intent

7 a. Actor intends to confine the other or a third person within the boundaries fixed by the actor OR b. Start a chain of events that a reasonable person is be substantially certain will result in a sense of confinement 2. Sense of confinement: a. The action directly or indirectly results in confinement 3. Harm of Confinement: a. The other is conscious of the imprisonment or is harmed by it. Exceptions: Shopkeepers Privilege: Shopkeeper’s privilege says a shop can detain someone for a reasonable amount of time (15 minutes or so) to call police and reclaim goods. Grant v. Stop-n-go Market of Texas (1999 pg.) Facts: D claims P took cigarettes. P says D grabbed him, told him he cannot leave, and said he’s calling the police. Could be false imprisonment- being told he couldn’t leave was material. Shopkeeper’s privilege doesn’t apply to D b/c P was detained 80 minutes

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: 4 requisites for IIED: 1. Conduct causing harm was intentional or reckless 2. Outrageous or reckless conduct 3. Action caused victim distress 4. There was severe emotional distress 1. Intent a. Probably need DUAL INTENT or recklessness (sounds like single intent) i. Even if didn’t intend to cause a harm, a reckless disregard of foreseeable distress in others is sufficient intent for IIED under Rest (3d) §45 2. Infliction of Emotional Distress a. Extreme/Outrageous Conduct….. Factors determining this: i. Actor’s position of authority ii. Actor’s awareness of the victim’s vulnerability to emotional distress. 3. Harm a. You DON’T need to suffer a physical harm resulting from emotional distress, but the conduct must be sufficiently outrageous. b. MUST experience a severe emotional distress. (hot girl kisses you. If you like it, could be battery, but not IIED) Exceptions:  Insults generally don’t qualify ex. Band teacher calling student “retard”- not IIED  First amendment speech

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Nagata v. Quest Diagnostics Inc. ( pg.) Facts: P was fired b/c he supplied seemingly non-human urine for a drug test. 2 years later, drug testers (D) said their testing was faulty. 4 factors of IIED could be met. No need for physical injury from emotional distress.

Umbrella Torts:

An actor who intentionally causes physical harm is subject to

liability for that harm.

Defenses/Privileges to Intentional Torts If P has established Prima Facie case of an intentional tort, D can use these defenses….

Consent: Consent is a unique privilege, because sometimes P must prove non-consent, but we look at it as a defense/privilege that D must show consent. Consent could be seen as an affirmative defense, or as negating the prima facie elements of intentional torts (depending on which way you wanted to come out) Subjective Consent: Consent in fact. Can be manifested by action or inaction. Objective Consent: Apparent Consent. What a reasonable person can determine under circumstances, based on outward manifestations. 2nd restatement: 1. Consent is willingness in fact. It may be manifested by action or by inaction and need not be communicated to the actor. (Subjective: Sort of useless) 2. If words or conduct are reasonably understood to be intended as consent, they constitute apparent consent and are as effective as consent in fact (Objective) Actual v. Apparent consent have same weight, but really objective consent is all that matters. The only proof of inward manifestation are outward manifestations *If there is not objective consent but there is subjective consent… can’t recover b/c no harm Special Notes on Consent: o There is a scope of consent. People may consent to some activity, but not necessarily all. (football case) o Sometimes, consent is implied with certain activities…. But not immune from outrageous activity outside norm of that activity. (what’s the norm?) o Effective Consent: If conduct agreed upon is substantially the same, there’s consent. o Consent by fraud/duress is not consent. o Consent may not be a complete defense. For example, P’s minor contributory fault doesn’t mean P can’t recover damages. Same goes for consent.

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Obrien v. Cunard Steamship Co. (pg.) Facts: P claimed battery because she was vaccinated against her will. But her conduct (outward manifestations) indicated consent because she was in line and held up arm) No battery: consent was objectively determined. Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals Inc. (pg.) Facts: Outside rules of football, P was shoved in neck/injured. D said P gave implied consent to tortious action by playing football…. P didn’t consent because there is a scope of consent. You have some implied consent when you do this activity, but aren’t immune from activity outrageously outside the norm of the sport. Christman v. Davis (pg.) Facts: D was dentist. Gave P a slightly different but less invasive procedure. Battery/Consent? Yes to consent. If conduct agreed upon is substantially the same, there’s consent. It was less invasive. Policy: Dr’s need to be able to exercise medical judgment without fear of liability. De May v. Rogerts (pg.) Facts: P was in labor. Dr. came over with his friend. P reasonably thought friend was trained medical professional. Friend assisted a bit by holding hand. Battery, or did she consent? P didn’t consent b/c her consent was induced by fraud. She was justifi...