Intentional torts:

(1) Intent (Cleveleand Park: intent to act not to cause

harm) RTT 1
(2) Contact
(3) Causation (Garret: intent to act may indir. cause harm)
(4) Harm
Prima facie cases:
Trespass to person
Battery RST 13
Assault RST 21
Words + actions (Tuberville) RST 31
Emotional distress: perceive event contemporaneously +
close family member to injured person RST 46
Trespass to land (Dougherty: strict liability for all damage,
Smith: person giving threat forcing you onto land is
responsible) RST 158
Trespass to chattels: dispossessing/interfering w/ property,
strict liability RST 217/218
Conversion (Poggi: doesnt depend on intent/knowl.)
Defenses
Consent (Mohr: no emergency + no consent = wrongful,
Hoofnel: consent forms in hospitals supersede prior
intentions, Canterbury: consent requires full information)
Consent implied in fact
Emergency rule (Schloendorff: immediate action in med
cases consent implied)
Insanity isnt a defense (McGuire: intent matters)
Defense of self/property (Courvoisier: reasonableness
standard, Bird: can protect property; no traps)
Self/others: (1) imminent peril (2) response to risk (3)
proportionate response
Property: (1) ask to leave (or sign/notice) (2)
assault/battery (3) equivalence rule (proportionate
response to resistance/attacks
Necessity: overrides claim to land/property (Vincent:
private necessity; limited privilege and liable for damage,
Shuer: public necessity, no liability for damage)
Negligence: reasonable care given circumstances RTT 3
(1) Duty (Palsgraf/Stone: foreseeability defines scope,
Vaughan: reasonable person standard, Carrol Towing: duty
to protect from harm when burden of precautions is less
than probability/magnitude of harm)
Custom: evidence of duty standard (T.J. Hooper: custom
standard where custom risk, Lama: for med mal,
show standard of care, failure to follow, directly caused
harm with knowledge of alt.)
NPS: violate a statute (Gorris/Abrahams: harm must be
type statute was designed to protect, Hernan: doesnt
matter if harm cause was type statute was designed to
protect; argue both) RTT 14

License statutes (Brown: must show lack of license +

create a greater harm, Cook: unless one cause is
violation of safety standards enforced by statute)
natural, then no liability)
Assumption of risk (Murphy: accept foreseeable risk if
Severable liability: proportionate liability (Sindell:
aware of potential for harm)
market share liability, Murphy: 10% of market isnt
Release of liability invalid if generally suitable for
substantial enough of a share, McCormack: s
lit., service is of importance/public nec., willing to serve
establish share)
anyone, bargaining advantage/stand. form contracts
Indeterminate causes (Summers: if unable to determine
(Tunkl, Dalury)
which caused harm, but both could be resp., treat as joint
Affirmative duties
liability) RTT 28
Conduct more risk than no conduct, duty to
Proximate cause: subst. factor in causing harm + no rule
reasonable care RTT 7
relieving liab. = prox. cause RST 431
Actors conduct must create risk of harm RTT 37
Intervening 3rd person is superseding cause of harm
Duty to prevent/minimize harm (Montgomery: applies
unless actor reasonably should have realized creation
where inaction/not performing duty effectively causes
of situation allowing 3rd persons crime (Brower/Lane)
injury) RTT 39
RST 448
Special relationships additional care RTT 40/41
Dependent causes: 2nd liable for incremental damages
Services to reduce risk of harm duty of reasonable
Danger invites rescue, liable to victim and rescuer
care if failure increases risk or other relies RTT 42
(Wagner, Eckert)
Gives aid to imperiled person duty to continue aid
(4) Harm (Polemis: neg. if damage was fores., not nec.
(Zelenko) RTT 44
most foreseeable)
Cant prevent 3rd party aid (Soldano) RST 339
RIL: infer negligence from the fact that harm resulted
Duty to rescue (Hurley: lic. to prac. medicine doesnt
(Holshauer: to disprove need only show something else
require you to help all patients)
just as likely caused harm, Ybarra: Med Mal, unusual
Duty of owners/occupiers (Rowland: where occupier
injuries) RTT 17
knows of latent risk, must warn of condition)
(1) Normally wouldnt happen without negligence
Attractive nuisance doctrine: liable to kids if you
(2) Other causes eliminated OR was relevant cause
know kids come on, condition may cause harm, kids
w/ exclusive control
dont see risk, utility consideration, no reasonable care
(3) didnt interfere w/ causal sequence
to eliminate (Maalouf: relevant what harms the kid,
Thin skull rule: take your victim as you find him
not was attracts him to the land) RST 339
Strict Liability
Landlord controls areas, duty to maintain safety
Trespass to chattels/land
(Levine)
Vicarious liability (Bushey: bus. cant disclaim liability for
Contracts (Doyle: if foreseeable that breach of contract
actions of empl. if the class of action was fore., not exact
will harm 3rd party, duty to all in fore. orbit of risk; most
action, Riley: frolic/detour rule covers small deviat.)
states, Strauss: no recovery to parties outside contract;
No vic. liab. for indep. contractors except under
NY rule)
apparent/implied authority (Petrovich: apparent
(2) Breach
authority: principal creates appearance of authority, cant
(3) Causation (GE: mechanism by which danger causes
deny it; implied authority: agent doesnt have control
harm + exposure = proof) RTT 26
over manner of doing work)
Contributory negligence: no relief to (not used)
Products liability
Comparative negligence: liability in proportion to fault
Sell/dist. prod. liable for harm by defect (Thomas: if
(Li: pure apportionment of liability in proportion to fault)
harm is foreseeable, Devlin: duty to anyone foreseeably
Lost chance: prove proper care would have more than
using product, Statler: beyond direct buyers) RTT:PL 1
likely cured/improved cond. (Verdicchio: show delay in
No duty liability for patent dangers (Campo)
treatment incr. risk of lost opportunity to treat) RTT 26
Use foreseeable hazard, duty to prevent risk of injury
Multiple suff. causes: required that actions would have
from hazard (VW)
been a cause even w/out other causes
Defective @ sale/distr., defect in manuf/design/
Joint liability: mult. obligors responsible for an entire
instructions/warnings RTT:PL 2
loss (Kingston: even if two causes come together to
Infer defect harm w/out proof of defect when incident
ord. results from defect + no other causes RTT:PL 3