Deck 7: Intentional Torts

Question 1

The same act can never be both a tort and a crime.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Only the intentional destruction of personal property and not the use of the property in an unauthorized manner can give rise to a cause of action for conversion.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Under constitutional privilege, a public official does not have to prove that the defendant published the defamatory
and false comment with knowledge or with reckless disregard of the comment's falsity and its defamatory character.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Under the Restatement, the publicity required for the tort of public disclosure of private facts is the same as
"publication" under the law of defamation.

Question 5

Many courts will allow recovery for the infliction of emotional distress even in the absence of physical injury.

Question 6

Assault is principally a mental rather than a physical intrusion.

Question 7

AB, Inc.fires an employee and then, when asked for a reference on him, knowingly makes some untrue statements which prevent him from finding a job.AB is liable for defamation.

Question 8

All conversions of personal property are trespasses, but not all trespasses to personal property are conversions.

Question 9

Three torts comprise the misuse of legal procedure: malicious prosecution, wrongful criminal proceedings, and verbal abuse.

Question 10

Incompetents and persons under the age of 18 cannot be held liable for their intentional torts.

Question 11

Malicious prosecution and wrongful civil proceedings impose liability for damages caused by improperly brought proceedings, including harm to reputation, credit, or standing; emotional distress; and expenses of defense.

Question 12

"Punitive damages" is a term referring to damages that will merely compensate victims for the harm they have suffered, but that will cost defendants more money than they have.

Question 13

Consent, given by a person with capacity, negates the wrongfulness of an act.

Question 14

Internet service providers have immunity from liability for defamation when publishing information originating from a third party.

Question 15

Disparagement differs from defamation in that defamation pertains to personal reputation, whereas disparagement pertains to economic interests.

Question 16

Bodily contact intended as a compliment or as a joke cannot constitute a battery since there is no intent to offend.

Question 17

A person may employ deadly force to protect his property.

Question 18

In order to constitute a battery, contact need not cause physical injury.

Question 19

Abuse of process applies even when there is probable cause or when the plaintiff or prosecution succeeds in the litigation.

Question 20

Intent, for purposes of tort law, does not require an evil or hostile motive.

Question 21

Tort law gives persons relief from civil wrongs or injuries to their person, property, and economic interests.

Question 22

Businesses that conduct their business activities through employees are liable for their employees' torts committed in the course of employment.

Question 23

The terms "nuisance" and "trespass to property" refer to the same tort.

Question 24

Generally, consent is not a defense in an intentional tort action.

Question 25

A defamatory communication that is spoken or oral is designated libel.

Question 26

Storeowners can occasionally have a problem with liability for false imprisonment when they seek to question a suspected shoplifter.

Question 27

Qualified privilege depends upon proper use of the privilege.

Question 28

Invasion of privacy is in reality a collection of four distinct torts.

Question 29

A major difference between trespass to personal property and conversion is that the latter does not require intent to harm whereas trespass does.

Question 30

The tort of appropriation is also known as the right of publicity.

Question 31

A person would be liable to the rightful owner of stolen property for conversion even though the person bought it in good faith from the thief and without knowledge that it had been stolen.

Question 32

A true statement of a highly personal nature made to embarrass someone is defamation.

Question 33

For purposes of intentional torts, a person can have the intent to cause harm if the harm is substantially certain to occur even if he or she doesn't desire that such harm occur.

Question 34

The cause of action of intentional infliction of emotional distress will protect a person from abusive language and rudeness.

Question 35

The tort of false light imposes liability if the matter in question is objectionable to a reasonable person but is not necessarily defamatory.

Question 36

Pointing an unloaded gun at someone who believes it is loaded and threatening to shoot constitutes an assault.

Question 37

A letter sent to someone falsely accusing her of being a murderer constitutes the tort of defamation.

Question 38

A person can be guilty of trespass whether he or she intended or did not intend to violate the other's rights.

Question 39

The spoken threat, "If you don't give me your billfold and keys, I'll shoot you," cannot be an assault since it only
involves words.

Question 40

In many instances the same facts will give rise to both an action for false light and defamation.

Question 41

A(n) is a non-trespassory invasion of another's interest in the private use and enjoyment of land.

A)trespass to real property
B)nuisance
C)interference with contractual relations
D)fraudulent misrepresentation

Question 42

An employer:

A)must not provide electronic bulletin boards and chat rooms because of provisions of the CDA.
B)should act quickly to remove any defamatory statements brought to its attention because Section 230 of the CDA grants immunity from defamation liability only to ISPs.
C)need not be concerned about allegedly defamatory statements on e-forums it controls because Section 230 of the CDA grants any employers immunity from liability for defamation for publishing information originating from a third party.
D)cannot be held liable for unauthorized online defamatory statements made by employees.

Question 43

Which of the following is ordinarily held liable for their intentional torts?

A)A person who has not reached the age of majority
B)An incompetent
C)An employer, for the acts of employees in the course of employment
D)All of these.

Question 44

The intentional dispossession or unauthorized use of the personal property of another is known as:

A)conversion.
B)trespass to personal property.
C)fraud.
D)stealing.

Question 45

Which of the following can be raised as a defense to a claim of defamation?

A)That the statement was true.
B)That there was a constitutional privilege to comment about the plaintiff who is a public figure and that the statement was made without malice.
C)That there was a conditional privilege to make defamatory comment on another's statements in order to protect legitimate self-interest.
D)All of these.

Question 46

Tim and Steve are roughhousing in Tim's parents' front yard when Steve intentionally pushes Tim onto the neighbor's property.In this case:

A)Tim is a trespasser.
B)Steve is a trespasser.
C)Tim and Steve are both trespassers.
D)None of these.

Question 47

Arthur fired a gun in the middle of the desert.He intended to fire the gun, but had no reason to believe anyone else was in the area.If the bullet hits Tom, who happened to be riding his ATV across the desert:

A)Arthur has committed the tort of assault.
B)Arthur has committed the tort of battery.
C)it is unlikely that Arthur has the necessary intent to commit a tort.
D)Arthur has committed the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Question 48

Les, a teenager, has the permission of Harold to walk across his yard on the way to school.If Les brings twenty of his friends across the yard, and they stop to play ball:

A)Les is not guilty of trespass to real property, because he had Harold's permission to cross the yard.
B)Les's friends are not guilty of trespass to real property, because they were with Les.
C)Les is guilty of trespass to real property, because he walked across the yard.
D)Les and his friends are guilty of trespass to real property, because they played ball in Harold's yard.

Question 49

Invasion of privacy consists of:

A)appropriation.
B)intrusion.
C)public disclosure of private facts.
D)All of these are invasions of privacy.

Question 50

The Restatement Third, Torts:

A)was approved in its final form by the American Law Institute in 1995.
B)addresses the elements of the tort action for liability for accidental personal injury, including property damage and liability for economic loss.
C)covers emotional harm and landowner liability.
D)All of these.

Question 51

Harms or injuries that are tortious may be inflicted:

A)intentionally.
B)negligently.
C)without fault.
D)In all of these ways.

Question 52

Handwritten, typewritten, printed, pictorial, or televised defamation is:

A)false light.
B)libel.
C)slander.
D)disparagement.

Question 53

Acting with reckless disregard for the falsity of the matter, Anita included Joe's name and photograph in a list of the FBI's top ten criminals.Joe has never been convicted of a crime and is horrified by the thought of being considered a criminal.This:

A)is defamation.
B)is false light.
C)is nuisance.
D)could be either defamation or false light.

Question 54

One of the principal objectives of tort law is to prevent future harms and losses.

Question 55

Defenses to intentional torts include:

A)self-defense and consent.
B)defense of others and consent.
C)self-defense and defense of property.
D)All of these are valid defenses.

Question 56

Ray threw a bomb into the office of his insurance agent, intending to kill the agent because the company had disallowed his claim.The agent wasn't in the building, but the bomb seriously injured his secretary, who was working in the office.Ray:

A)cannot be liable to the secretary for any torts because he did not intend to hurt her.
B)can be sued by the secretary with an intentional tort cause of action because Ray's intent to harm the agent is transferred to the secretary.
C)has committed a crime, but he is not liable for any torts.
D)has committed the tort of intrusion.

Question 57

Bodily contact that is harmful or offensive can give rise to the tort of:

A)assault.
B)battery.
C)defamation.
D)appropriation.

Question 58

The Hometown News snapped a picture of Tom, a local teenager, as he was sleeping under a tree in the park on a warm spring day.If they print the picture on the front page of the paper:

A)the Hometown News is guilty of intrusion.
B)the Hometown News is guilty of false light.
C)the Hometown News is guilty of appropriation.
D)it is unlikely that the Hometown News is guilty of any tort.

Question 59

Sally, while walking in a park, got hit on the head with a baseball.The ball was thrown at her by Aaron who intended to hit her to show off in front of his friends.She may recover damages for:

A)bodily harm.
B)emotional distress.
C)reasonable medical expenses.
D)All of these.

Question 60

Under the Third Restatement of Torts, a person acts recklessly if the person:

A)has an unconscious disregard of the consequences of the act committed.
B)knows facts that make the risk obvious to another in the person's situation.
C)exhibits malice or a fraudulent or evil motive.
D)All of these.

Question 61

Which of the following is not an element of a tort?

A)A breach of duty
B)Proximate cause
C)Hostile mens rea
D)Injury or damage to the owner of a legally protected interest

Question 62

An absolute privilege exists to protect which of the following in defamation cases?

A)Members of Congress on the floor of Congress
B)Statements made by the U.S.President in the discharge of official duty
C)Statements about third persons between spouses when they are alone
D)All of these.

Question 63

In an article about a prominent judge, a newspaper indicates the possibility that the judge had organized crime connections.The judge sues.The judge will have a cause of action:

A)if the suit is for defamation and the newspaper responsibly checked its sources.
B)if the suit is a suit for intrusion.
C)whether or not the newspaper checked its sources as long as the information printed is ultimately found to be untrue.
D)if the information is untrue and the newspaper did not check its sources.

Question 64

Hal doesn't like Bradley so, at a cocktail party, he spread untrue rumors about Bradley's personal lifestyle and sexual practices.If these rumors harm Bradley's reputation in the community:

A)Hal is guilty of libel.
B)Hal is guilty of slander.
C)Bradley does not have a defamation suit against Hal.
D)Hal is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Question 65

Business torts consist of:

A)interference with contractual relations.
B)disparagement.
C)fraudulent misrepresentation.
D)All of these.

Question 66

Andrew noticed Michael and his pregnant wife Georgette walking down the street and, as a joke, drove his car within inches of Michael.Michael wasn't injured, but his wife suffered severe mental distress and needed to be hospitalized in order to save the pregnancy.Andrew has:

A)no liability to Georgette, because he has not committed a tort against her.
B)committed the tort of battery against Georgette.
C)committed the tort of battery against Michael but has committed no tort against Georgette.
D)committed the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Georgette.

Question 67

Intentional harm to property includes which of the following torts?

A)Trespass to real property
B)Nuisance
C)Trespass to personal property
D)All of these.

Question 68

The constitutional privilege protects the press in a defamation action:

A)in the absence of mistake.
B)when the plaintiff is a public figure or official.
C)from all liability to anyone.
D)in all of these situations.

Question 69

Mark gave the keys to his apartment to his friend Jack so Jack could sleep after a late-night study session.When Jack walked in, Mark's roommate, Sam, was standing behind the door in the dark, holding a baseball bat over his head.Jack flicked on the light and Sam saw it was Jack, so he lowered the bat before Jack noticed him.In this case:

A)Jack is guilty of assault.
B)Sam is guilty of assault.
C)both Sam and Mark are guilty of assault.
D)neither Jack nor Sam is guilty of assault.

Question 70

A newspaper article hints that a certain corporation is a front for illegal activity.The corporation:

A)will lose a defamation suit because only natural persons can successfully bring defamation suits.
B)will likely win a defamation suit if the statement is untrue and was made with malice.
C)will likely lose a defamation suit because the press has an absolute privilege in this type of case.
D)can win an invasion of privacy suit even if the statement is true.

Question 71

Tort law:

A)is primarily federal statutory law.
B)is primarily state statutory law.
C)is primarily common law.
D)has as a primary objective the punishment of offenders.

Question 72

Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he did not show to anyone, but which he posted on a bulletin board in the laundromat.Arnold has committed:

A)the tort of slander.
B)the tort of libel.
C)neither libel nor slander, because there has been no publication of the letter.
D)the tort of public disclosure of private facts.

Question 73

Intent as used in the law of intentional torts requires the defendant to:

A)understand that her actions created the end consequence.
B)desire to cause the consequence of her action.
C)believe the consequences are substantially certain to result from her action.
D)All of these.

Question 74

Arnold wrote a defamatory letter regarding Bill which he mailed to Bill, but which he did not show to anyone else. Arnold has committed:

A)the tort of slander.
B)the tort of libel.
C)neither libel nor slander, because there has been no publication of the letter.
D)the tort of false light.

Question 75

Tammy joined a religious cult while a student at college.Her father hired a deprogrammer who spent several weeks with her, during which they occasionally went on outings.After Tammy met with her boyfriend one weekend, she rejoined the cult.If she sues her father and the deprogrammer for false imprisonment, Tammy:

A)will win because this is clearly false imprisonment.
B)will lose if she had a reasonable means of escaping and voluntarily consented to the confinement.
C)has committed the tort of malicious prosecution.
D)would lose on the false imprisonment charge, but could win against her parents if she brought a suit on a charge of intrusion.

Question 76

A photographer taking photos of a movie star with a telephoto lens would NOT be guilty of intrusion if the:

A)photographer never entered onto the movie star's property.
B)pictures were not published.
C)movie star was in bed at the time.
D)movie star was in a public building at the time.

Question 77

Mary's car was parked just outside the east door of the Civic Center.When she tried to exit, three ominous-looking gang members were blocking that door.She called the police who arrested the three for loitering.If Mary brings suit against them for false imprisonment:

A)she will lose if there was another exit she could have used.
B)she will lose because she was not harmed by the confinement.
C)she will win even if there was another way out because she was, in effect, being confined to the Civic Center.
D)she will win because they were blocking her passage to her car.

Question 78

The intentional exercise of dominion or control over another's personal property which so seriously interferes with the other's right of control as to justly require the payment of full value for the property is:

A)trespass to personal property.
B)interference with economic interests.
C)fraudulent misrepresentation.
D)None of the above.

Question 79

Damages for interference with contractual relations include:

A)payment for emotional distress.
B)nominal damages.
C)conversion fees.
D)criminal fines.

Question 80

There is a(n)

A)Fourth Amendment
B)First Amendment
C)conditional
D)absolute