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Law 1051 Tort ;Trespass to the person Summary
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Tort- Trespass-Protect a person’s integrity.
Trespass to the person torts…
Assault
Battery
False imprisonment
-Rule in Wilkinson v Downtown [1897]
-Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Intro
a) Relationship with criminal law
The torts which comprise trespass to the person obviously have close connections with the
criminal law and, in particular, the offences found in the Offences Against the Person Act
1861.
Why then does the law also recognise a civil action in such cases? Why would the
victim wish to bring a claim?
(The burden of proof may not amount to a criminal claim)
Financial compensation?
Highlight failure of criminal justice system?
See eg Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex Police [2008] – negligence, false
imprisonment and assault and battery.
Conventionally, the trespass torts are described as having the same characteristics:
they must be committed intentionally;
they must cause direct and immediate harm; and
they are actionable per se, that is, without proof of loss
b) Distinguishing trespass and negligence
Proof of harm
Trespass torts are actionable per se, that is, without proof of loss.
Type of harm
Can recover for (some) types of harm that can’t be recovered in negligence
Reasonableness
Acting reasonably does not always prevent someone from committing a tort-
McBride
Battery
‘the actual infliction of unlawful force on another person’ (Collins v Wilcock).
There is no need to show that the defendant caused the claimant actual harm by
touching them, or indeed that they intended (or were negligent as to causing) any
harm.
Any unwanted contact – from a pat on the back to an unwanted kiss or a violent blow
to the head – can amount to a battery.
‘an unwanted kiss may be a battery although the defendant’s intention may
be most amiable’ (R v Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, ex parte
Central Electricity Generating Board [1982] p 471).
, In order to establish an actionable battery, force exceeding ‘physical contact which is
generally acceptable in the ordinary conduct of daily life’ must be applied by
immediate and direct means to another individual (Collins v Wilcock p 1177).
An applicable battery requires…
1. The intentional application of unlawful (though not necessarily hostile) force;
2. Which is direct and immediate; and
3. No lawful justification or excuse
a) Direct and immediate force
Scott v Shepherd [1773]
D threw a firework into a market place. It was thrown on by two
stallholders to protect themselves and their wares before it eventually
exploded in the face of the C. D liable.
DPP v K [1990]
D poured sulphuric acid into the upturned nozzle of a hand drying machine. C
used the dryer with the result that the acid was blown onto his face, leaving a
permanent scar. D liable. The shortness of time between the act and the
contact meant that the contact was sufficiently direct to satisfy the
requirement of battery
b) The meaning of intention
Intentional conduct, that is, willed, voluntary action. In contrast to conduct which
was out of the defendant’s control – for example, a spasm or when they are
physically manipulated by someone else.
Intention consequences – for example to touch or hurt someone or to score a goal. In
contrast to recklessness or negligence which involve, at most, an awareness of the
risk that one’s conduct will bring a particular result.
Letang v Cooper 1965
‘If one man intentionally apples force directly to another, the plaintiff has a cause of
action in assault and battery, or, if you so please to describe it, in trespass to the
person … if he does not inflict injury intentionally, but only unintentionally, the
plaintiff has no cause of action today in trespass. His only cause of action is in
negligence, and the only on proof of want of reasonable care’ (Lord Denning MR in
Letang v Cooper p 239)
Letand endorsed in Iqbal v POA 2009
‘It is well established that all forms of trespass require an intentional act. An act of
negligence will not suffice’ (Smith LJ [71]).
However, Smith LJ went on to hold that intention here also includes subjective
recklessness, that is where the defendant foresees that their actions would have the
relevant consequences.
And so it seems the defendant’s application of unlawful force may be intentional or
careless
Intentional application…
Williams v Humphrey [1975] – voluntary action
D pushed C into a swimming pool causing C to fall awkwardly and break his
ankle. D argued that he did not intend to hurt C but this did not matter. He
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