IA Bar Torts 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Battery is best defined as:
- An intentional act causing apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact
- An intentional act causing harmful or offensive contact with another's person (Correct answer)
- Negligent physical contact that causes bodily injury to another
- Any unconsented touching regardless of the defendant's mental state
Correct answer: An intentional act causing harmful or offensive contact with another's person
Battery is an intentional act that causes harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff's person; the defendant must intend the contact or know it is substantially certain to result.
Question 2: To establish intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), a plaintiff must show the defendant's conduct was:
- Negligent and foreseeably likely to cause emotional harm
- Extreme and outrageous, intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress (Correct answer)
- Any intentional act that caused the plaintiff to feel upset or offended
- Directed at the plaintiff with actual malice and ill will
Correct answer: Extreme and outrageous, intentionally or recklessly causing severe emotional distress
IIED requires extreme and outrageous conduct (beyond all bounds of decency tolerated by a civilized society), done intentionally or recklessly, causing severe emotional distress to the plaintiff.
Question 3: Which of the following is a complete defense to a battery claim?
- The defendant did not know the plaintiff would be seriously harmed
- The plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly consented to the contact (Correct answer)
- The contact was negligently rather than intentionally inflicted
- The contact caused only minor or trivial harm to the plaintiff
Correct answer: The plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly consented to the contact
Consent is a complete defense to battery if the plaintiff voluntarily and knowingly consented to the contact within the scope of the consent given.
Question 4: Under strict products liability (Restatement Second § 402A), a commercial seller is liable when:
- The seller acted negligently in manufacturing or designing the product
- The product was sold in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user (Correct answer)
- The seller had actual knowledge that the product was dangerous before sale
- The product failed to meet consumer expectations test only
Correct answer: The product was sold in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user
Under Restatement Second § 402A, a seller of a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user is liable for physical harm caused to the ultimate user, regardless of negligence or privity.
Question 5: Strict liability for 'abnormally dangerous activities' is imposed when:
- The activity is illegal under state or federal law
- The activity involves a high risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated by reasonable care and is not common to the area (Correct answer)
- The defendant engages in an activity that is uncommon or unusual in the region
- The activity is conducted without proper government licensing or permits
Correct answer: The activity involves a high risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated by reasonable care and is not common to the area
Strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities applies when the activity involves a high degree of risk of serious harm that cannot be eliminated by reasonable care, and the activity is not a matter of common usage in the locality.
Question 6: Conversion, as a tort, requires:
- A minor or temporary interference with the plaintiff's personal property
- A serious intentional interference with plaintiff's chattel that substantially deprives them of it (Correct answer)
- Any unauthorized touching or use of another's personal property
- Theft of property with the specific intent to permanently deprive the owner
Correct answer: A serious intentional interference with plaintiff's chattel that substantially deprives them of it
Conversion requires an intentional act that so seriously interferes with plaintiff's chattel that the defendant is justly required to pay its full value; the interference must be substantial, not trivial.
Question 7: False imprisonment requires proof of:
- Physical confinement using locks or physical barriers only
- Intentional confinement of the plaintiff within fixed boundaries of which the plaintiff is aware (Correct answer)
- Confinement for a minimum statutory period of time
- The use of actual physical force to restrain the plaintiff's movement
Correct answer: Intentional confinement of the plaintiff within fixed boundaries of which the plaintiff is aware
False imprisonment is the intentional confinement of a person within fixed boundaries without consent, through any means (threats, physical force, or failure to provide a means of escape), of which the plaintiff is consciously aware.
IA Bar Torts 2
Battery is best defined as: