Intentional Torts and Defences
Trespass to the person
Battery is the intentional application of unlawful force. Assault is an act causing a reasonable apprehension of immediate unlawful force. False imprisonment is the intentional and complete restriction of the claimant's freedom of movement without lawful justification. Intent means the defendant intended the act, not necessarily the harm. Questions often test whether the claimant's apprehension was reasonable, and whether the restraint was complete.
Defences
Consent (including informed consent to medical treatment) is a complete defence if given freely and with capacity. Self-defence permits reasonable force in response to an imminent threat; the force must be proportionate. Necessity may justify interference in an emergency. Lawful arrest and statutory authority may also justify detention.
Trespass to land and goods
Trespass to land is unjustified interference with land in the possession of another. Trespass to goods includes taking, damaging or interfering with goods in another's possession.
Worked rule of thumb
For assault, ask whether a reasonable person in the claimant's position would apprehend immediate force. Words alone can negate or create apprehension depending on context. For battery, ask whether there was direct, intentional contact without consent. A doctor who performs a procedure beyond the scope of consent may commit battery.
Traps
Do not assume that intention to harm is required; intention to do the act is enough. Mistake is generally not a defence. Consent obtained by fraud or given without capacity is invalid. Self-defence requires proportionality, not mere retaliation. Questions may test whether detention was complete or whether there was a reasonable means of escape.
Strict Liability
The rule in Rylands v Fletcher
A person who brings onto land something likely to do mischief if it escapes, and keeps it there for a non-natural use, is strictly liable for damage caused by its escape. The elements are: a thing brought onto land; a non-natural use; an escape; and foreseeable damage of the relevant kind. The rule is narrow and rarely succeeds today. Questions test each element separately.
Non-natural use
Non-natural use means a use that increases the danger to others beyond the ordinary use of land. Storing large quantities of water or chemicals may qualify; ordinary domestic or agricultural use usually does not. The test is contextual and considers the character of the neighbourhood.
Defences
Defences include consent of the claimant, an act of a stranger, an act of God, and statutory authority. The rule does not generally apply to personal injury, and it is often displaced by negligence or nuisance claims.
Other strict liability regimes
Product liability under statute, liability for animals, and certain statutory regimes impose strict liability. Questions may test whether a statutory regime applies instead of the common law rule.
Worked rule of thumb
Ask: was the thing brought onto land, was the use non-natural, did it escape, and was the damage foreseeable? A factory storing large quantities of flammable chemicals that escape and damage a neighbour may satisfy the rule; a household water tank that leaks into a neighbour's cellar usually will not, because domestic use is ordinary.
Traps
Do not treat strict liability as absolute liability: defences apply and foreseeability of damage is still required. Do not overlook that the rule is usually a fallback where negligence or nuisance fails.
Nuisance and Remedies
Private nuisance
Private nuisance is unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land. It requires an interference that is substantial and unreasonable, judged by the character of the neighbourhood, the duration and intensity of the interference, the sensitivity of the claimant's use, and the utility of the defendant's conduct. Physical damage to land is easier to establish than mere discomfort. Questions often test whether the interference is unreasonable, not merely annoying.
Public nuisance and defences
Public nuisance affects a class of people and may be actionable by someone who suffers special damage. Defences include statutory authority, prescription (long use), and consent. Coming to the nuisance is not a defence.
Remedies
Damages compensate for diminution in value or loss of enjoyment. Injunctions are available where damages are inadequate and the interference is continuing. Abatement (self-help) is possible but risky. Questions often test whether an injunction or damages is the appropriate remedy.
Worked rule of thumb
Ask: is the interference substantial and unreasonable given the locality, duration and sensitivity? A factory emitting fumes that corrode a neighbour's crops is likely a nuisance; a neighbour's ordinary domestic noise is unlikely to be. A hypersensitive use cannot convert trivial interference into nuisance.
Traps
Do not confuse nuisance with trespass: nuisance is indirect interference, trespass is direct. Sensitivity of the claimant is not decisive. Coming to the nuisance is no defence. Injunctions are discretionary, and courts may award damages instead.