Exam 4: Intentional Torts

Herman has committed the tort of trespass to land against Sonia. List four remedies that Sonia might receive and briefly explain a situation in which each would be appropriate.

Detlef, who was shopping in a store, was approached by two security guards who asked him to accompany them to a back room "to see the manager." When he asked the purpose for the request, he was told that he was "under suspicion." Detlef complied with the request because he wanted to avoid a public spectacle. He will not be able to successfully sue the security guards or the store unless he proves that someone, at some point, made physical contact with him.

Zirka owns a vacant piece of land. Without her consent or knowledge, Jonathan has been using that property as a motorcycle race course. She can sue him for both trespass and conversion.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

The defendant will be held liable for the tort of assault as long as the court is satisfied that a reasonable person in the plaintiff's circumstances would have believed that offensive bodily contact was imminent.

Shaniqua successfully sued Goldie for false imprisonment. That may be TRUE if

Marshall is an internationally famous musician. His wedding was one of the best publicized events of the past year. Because of his dislike of the media, however, he strictly forbade anyone other than invited guests from attending the ceremony, which was held within his tightly- guarded estate. Despite the presence of dozens of security personnel, however, Kimberley, a freelance photographer, managed to sneak onto Marshall's property and capture the entire wedding on film. If these facts were analyzed from the perspective of the traditional Canadian rules in tort, Kimberley will be held liable for both trespass to land and invasion of privacy.

Rocky sued Angela for the tort of malicious prosecution. Even if the other elements of the tort are proven, Angela will not be held liable if she satisfies the court her actions were a product of an honest, though foolish, mistake.

Johan owns an antique chair that has been in his family for generations. During a party at his house, Esther carved her initials into the underside of the chair's seat. She did so because she felt publicly humiliated after Johan had refused to dance with her. The chair has not been destroyed, but it will cost $10 000 to repair the damage. Johan would like to repair and retain the chair. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

List and briefly explain the elements of the tort of malicious prosecution.

Francisco parked his car on a street and went shopping. While he was away, Joyce damaged Francisco's car by scratching it with a set of keys. Before she did so, the car was worth $5000. Afterwards, it was worth $4000. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Fabrizio works at the Silk Nights Lingerie Shop in Polo Park Shopping Mall in Winnipeg. Despite being the store's leader in sales, he was not Silk Nights' most highly paid employee. In an effort to draw public support for his demand for higher wages, Fabrizio staged a picket inside of the mall when he was not working. Susana, who is employed by the mall as a security guard, was directed to remove Fabrizio from the premises. When he refused to leave voluntarily, she firmly took hold of his arm and led him out onto the street. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Gary successfully sued Nomi for the tort of battery. That may be TRUE if

The Sports Gambling Network (SGN) is a network of radio stations targeted at the growing number of people who are interested in sports or betting or both. Because it is quite new, SGN does not have the financial resources that are available to some of its competitors. The network consequently tries to minimize expenses whenever possible. It recently formulated a plan for broadcasting live sporting events without paying licensing fees to the teams, leagues, and organizations that are involved in those events. SGN's goal is to acquire (either by purchasing or leasing) properties located near outdoor stadiums and race tracks, to erect observation towers on those properties, and to then broadcast live transmissions of those events. The Association of Professional Sporting Leagues (the APSL) has learned of SGN's plan and intends to vigorously oppose it. The Association is worried that if SGN is able to broadcast sporting events without first obtaining licences from the relevant teams or leagues, other broadcasters would not be willing to pay substantial amounts for the right to broadcast those same games. The APSL's position is based in part on its argument that SGN's plan necessarily involves the commission of several torts. Is that correct ? Explain whether or not, in carrying out its plan, SGN would commit any of the torts discussed in Chapter 4.

Anoop owns and operates a movie theatre. Which of the following situations would most likely allow Anoop to successfully sue Samantha for the tort of trespass to land?

Explain why tort law has been reluctant to create a general tort of invasion of privacy.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Raja owns a corner store. Because he had suffered a great deal of theft in recent months, he was eager to catch a thief. He therefore kept an eye on Francine, a young homeless person, after she entered his store and began wandering around in a suspicious manner. Raja immediately summoned a police officer, JD Copper, who was walking nearby. Raja said that he had seen Francine put a pack of gum in her pocket, and he insisted that Francine must be arrested. Because JD (i) knew that Raja had been the victim of numerous thefts, (ii) reasonably believed that Raja was telling the truth, and (iii) reasonably agreed that Francine was acting in a suspicious manner, JD walked up to Francine and put hand- cuffs on her. Despite her pleas of innocence, Francine was detained at the front of the store, in front of other customers, for fifteen minutes while JD ran a police check on her. JD eventually released Francine after he realized that she had no police record and no stolen merchandise in her pockets. Which of the following statements is most likely to be TRUE?

Tommy and Niki were both bright and ambitious young analysts with Premier Investments Inc. The president announced that they were both under consideration for promotion to vice- president and a hefty increase in salary. Given recent scandals in the financial world, Tom knew that the president was anxious to uphold the company's reputation for honesty. Tom therefore concocted an allegation that Niki had wrongfully diverted client funds to her own personal use. The president immediately fired Niki upon hearing the allegation. It eventually became clear, however, that Tom's allegation was totally false and that Niki had never acted improperly. Niki then sued Tom for malicious prosecution. The judge, however, rejected her claim. The judge might properly have found in favour of Tom on the basis that

Jorge bought a ticket to see the Blue Jays in the SkyDome. During the game, he left his seat and visited a restaurant in the stadium. When he left the restaurant and tried to return to his seat, he was asked by one of the team's attendants to show his ticket. He refused. The dispute escalated. He was then arrested by one of the team's security guards. That arrest purportedly occurred under the Trespass to Property Act. That Act states that an offence is committed if a person who is "not acting under a right or authority conferred by law" refuses to leave a property after being asked to do so. Jorge subsequently sued the baseball team in tort. The main issue at trial was whether or not Jorge was entitled to remain in the stadium without showing his ticket. Which of the following statements is TRUE?