TORTS

1. Acts with intent or substantial certainty2. To Cause3. A harmful or Offensive Contact (Body/Offensive: offends reasonable sense of dignity)4. Harm Occurs

FIRECRACKER CASE Intent can be found through behavior. Intended to put firecracker in shoe.

SCIZOPHRENIA CASE An actor must have desired a harmful contact or believe contact was SUBSTANTIALLY CERTAIN to result. Do not need to intend harm.

An insane person may have an intent to invade the interest of another, even though his reasons and motives for forming that intention may be entirely irrational.

GUN/NIGHTCLUB CASE All you need is intent to commit an act. It is enough that the defendant sets force in motion which ultimately produces the result.

Special Damages (things you can quantify: past wages, future wages, medical expenses both future and past. General (harder to quantify: pain and suffering) Fault can be a percentage

Contact that is offensive to a reasonable sense of personal dignity, it must be one which would offend the ordinary person as such one not unduly sensitive.

SMOKE BLOWING CASE Act that offends reasonable sense of dignity. Direct/Indirect. Conduct is offensive because of the underlying intent, but damages are nominal.

KNEE TAP CASE Intent to cause injury is not needed. Only intent to contact regardless of circumstances.

OLD LADY NURSING HOME A person must have the mental capacity to appreciate the offensive or harmful act in order to intentionally cause it. DUAL INTENT: Defendant must both (a) intend the contact and (b) intend it to be harmful or offensive.

PRISON CASE Establishes you can have nominal damages.

An actor is subject to liability for assault if: (A) he acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the person or third party or imminent APPREHENSION of such contact and (B) the other is thereby put in such imminent apprehension.

Words alone are not enough unless together with acts or circumstances that put the person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact.

CREEPY TRAILER PARK GUY CASE Assault requires an objective test: Jury must find the defendant's conduct would normally arouse apprehension in the mind of a reasonable person.

BILLBOARD CASE Words alone are not enough. The threat must be imminent, threats over the phone are not imminent. NEAR FUTURE vs. IMMINENT FUTURE