FYLSX - Baby Bar Intentional Torts Against Persons Questions and Answers

Question 1

A defendant, intending to frighten a plaintiff by swinging a baseball bat and stopping just short of the plaintiff's head, accidentally misjudges the distance and strikes the plaintiff, causing injury.
Under the doctrine of transferred intent, which of the following intentional torts has the defendant most likely committed?

Accepted Answer

Battery, because the intent to commit an assault can be transferred to establish the intent for battery.

Answer

Assault only, because the defendant only intended to cause apprehension.

Answer

Neither assault nor battery, because the contact was unintentional.

Answer

Both assault and battery, but only if the plaintiff was aware of the incoming swing.

Question 2

Which of the following is an essential element for a prima facie case of false imprisonment?

Accepted Answer

The plaintiff must be aware of the confinement or be harmed by it.

Answer

The plaintiff must suffer actual physical harm from the confinement.

Answer

The defendant must use physical force to restrain the plaintiff.

Answer

The confinement must last for a minimum, specified duration.

Question 3

A prankster, as a joke, tells a friend that the friend's spouse has been in a serious car accident and is in critical condition at the hospital. The friend suffers a severe nervous breakdown upon hearing the news. Which intentional tort is the prankster most likely liable for?

Accepted Answer

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, because the conduct was extreme and outrageous and caused severe emotional distress.

Answer

Assault, because the friend was put in apprehension of an imminent harmful event.

Answer

Battery, because a severe nervous breakdown constitutes a harmful contact.

Answer

Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, because the prankster did not intend the severe harm.

Question 4

A security guard at a department store observes a shopper place an expensive watch in her pocket. The guard stops the shopper just outside the exit and asks her to come to the back office. The shopper agrees. In the office, the guard locks the door and tells the shopper she cannot leave until she confesses. After ten minutes, the shopper, who is innocent, becomes extremely distressed. The store is most likely:

Accepted Answer

Liable for false imprisonment because the confinement exceeded the scope of the Shopkeeper's Privilege.

Answer

Not liable for false imprisonment because the shopper initially consented to go to the office.

Answer

Not liable for false imprisonment because the guard had a reasonable suspicion of theft.

Answer

Liable for assault but not false imprisonment because the shopper was not physically touched.

Question 5

To establish a prima facie case for the tort of battery, the plaintiff must prove all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

That the defendant intended to cause actual injury or harm to the plaintiff.

Answer

An act by the defendant that results in a harmful or offensive contact with the plaintiff's person.

Answer

Intent on the part of the defendant to bring about the harmful or offensive contact.

Answer

Causation between the defendant's act and the resulting contact.

Question 6

During a heated argument, a man raises his fist and lunges toward a woman, stopping just an inch from her face. The woman, who was looking in the opposite direction and listening to music through headphones, was completely unaware of the man's actions. The man has committed:

Accepted Answer

No tort, because the woman was not aware of the threat.

Answer

Assault, because he intended to cause her apprehension of imminent contact.

Answer

Battery, because his lunge created an offensive contact with the space immediately surrounding her.

Answer

Both an assault and an attempted battery.