Chapter 15 Intentional Torts

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Chapter 15 Intentional Torts

• Intentional Torts - When people deliberately
  cause harm or loss to another person
• Intent the desire to commit an act for a
  specific purpose

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Intentional Torts

• Examples include
• assault
• battery
• sexual assault
• medical battery PERSON
• false imprisonment
• malicious prosecution
• mental suffering
• invasion of privacy
• defamation of character
• trespass to land
• trespass to chattels PROPERTY
• nuisance

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• Assault when a victim feels they may be in
  danger of bodily harm
• Battery intentional, unauthorized physical
  contact that the victim considers harmful or
  offensive
• Sexual assault victims of sexual assault,
  spousal abuse, incest want compensation in civil
  courts
• Medical Battery performing the wrong medical
  procedure or performing a procedure without the
  patients informed consent (exception being
  emergency situations)

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• False Imprisonment when a person is confined or
  restrained without consent or legal authority
• Mental Suffering deliberately shocking someone,
  causing the victim to suffer mental or physical
  harm
• Invasion of privacy some provinces have laws
  recognizing invasion of privacy (health,
  financial records, e-mail)

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Malicious Prosecution

• Wrongful prosecution of a person without
  reasonable and probable cause.
• 4 requirements
• 1. lack of reasonable, probable grounds for
  charge
• 2. motivated by malice- the desire to harm
  another (hardest to prove)
• 3. proceedings against defendant ended in the
  defendants favour
• 4. defendant suffers damages a s a result of
  the wrongful proceedings

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Defamation of Character

• Injury to a persons reputation or good name by
  slander or libel. Cases sometimes conflict with
  the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
• Slander (oral statement or gesture), and libel
  (permanent written or recorded statements)

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• The best defense against defamation is truth
  -proving the comments/accusations are true.
• Other defenses include
• absolute privilege -protection from liability
  from statements made in Parliament, legislatures,
  court
• qualified privilege protection from liability
  for statements made in certain situations as long
  as they are made without malice eg. teachers and
  employers
• fair comment - a defence that the comments were
  honest and made without malice eg. critics who
  review sports, movies, etc.

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• PROPERTY
• Trespass to Land entering/crossing another
  persons land without consent or legal authority
  (or overstaying ones welcome after one has been
  asked to leave or putting an object on someones
  property and not removing it - including trees
  branches).

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Trespass to Chattels

• If people intentionally interfere with your
  chattels - movable personal property such as
  clothes, jewellery, cars, furniture, art
• Conversion unauthorized and substantial
  interference with anothers property which
  deprives the owner of its use ( theft in criminal
  law)

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Nuisance

• An unreasonable interference with the right of
  others to enjoy their property
• Divided into two categories private (involving
  nuisance caused to specific individuals) public
  (involving nuisance caused to the general public)

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Defences to Nuisance

• Legal authority- eg. Laws re pollution, emergency
  vehicle sirens
• Prescription- right of one person to use
  anothers property after at least 20 years of
  continuous use in the same manner

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Defenses to Intentional Interference

• Consent when the defendant feels they were
  given permission
• Self-Defense used commonly, but the force used
  cannot excessive. The defendant must convince
  the court that they genuinely feared becoming
  injured (can even be used if defendant threw the
  first blow)

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• Defense of a Third Party used when the
  defendant claims to have been helping another
  individual (I.e. a child)
• Defense of Property used when defendant claims
  to have been protecting their property (before
  reasonable force can be used, the owner must
  first ask trespasser to leave)

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• Legal Authority used by police officers,
  security guards, etc. Examples include cases
  involving false imprisonment and trespassing
• Necessity used when there is a reasonable
  excuse explaining the situation (however,
  defendant may still be liable damages caused to
  property)