TRESPASS TO THE PERSON
Broad general principles.
• Most common > assault, battery and false imprisonment
• All forcible and direct and immediate injury to a person > same as land
and goods.
• Trespass actionable per se > presumed to be injured. Don’t have to
prove it
• Can arise through Ds negligence > negligence as a form of conduct and
as a state of mind would be sufficient to satisfy the court of trespass to
le person
• However, inadvertent injury not succeed, even if direct
• You must show D acted voluntarily
Fowley v Lanning
Letang v Cooper.
P sunbathing on stretch of grass close to car park of a hotel and the D drove his
car over her legs. The injury was inadvertent but was direct. The court:
abolished diff between case and trespass and adopted the test
- Intentional – trespass
- Unintentional – negligence.
Wilson v pringle
Battery
Must show D did something that P would object to as an unlawful interference
with P’s life.
- Action based on deliberate contact as opposed to negligent
ASSAULT
• An act which is INTENTIONALLY OR NEGLIGENTLY – causes P to
immediately apprehend a contact with his person.
• Assault is basically battery without physical contact
• Assault doesn’t involve contact, its about fear of contact
• Contact through the senses
• Where you have a battery, you also have an assault
, • You don’t merely apprehend or fear that you’ll be ‘battered’, but you’ll
be physically struck
• The threat you’re apprehending, must be capable of being carried out.
• Doesn’t matter what the P believes, its factually. > for example, if there’s
a gun pointed to someone that wasn’t loaded, it wouldn’t be assault but
if it was loaded, it would.
• D must be able to carry out the actual execution of the threat.
• In other words, if the threat is carried out, the injury will occur.
• Bullet must be in it and D must be able to pull the trigger
Thomas v N.U.M
In crossing a picket line, a number of minors issued threats, The non-striking
minors sued union for conduct and lost. The non-striking minors had police
accompaniment.
Dullaghan v Hillen
Initially, D was verbally abused by P. D retaliated and struck the P and broke his
nose. Here, the court held that
- P’s words in insulting D didn’t amount to an assault.
An exception to words not being assault:
- In an intimidator fashion
R v Ireland
Lord Steen said a silent telephone call may be assault.
- Silence suggested could be an assault
BATTERY
• Direct, intentional and physical contact w/ person
• You MUST PROVE THERE WAS NO CONSENT. < can’t be implied – must
be actually proven.
• But, actionable per se, don’t have to prove harm or injury
• Protects against all permitted contacts irrespective of actual harm or
injury
Humphries v Connor
Broad general principles.
• Most common > assault, battery and false imprisonment
• All forcible and direct and immediate injury to a person > same as land
and goods.
• Trespass actionable per se > presumed to be injured. Don’t have to
prove it
• Can arise through Ds negligence > negligence as a form of conduct and
as a state of mind would be sufficient to satisfy the court of trespass to
le person
• However, inadvertent injury not succeed, even if direct
• You must show D acted voluntarily
Fowley v Lanning
Letang v Cooper.
P sunbathing on stretch of grass close to car park of a hotel and the D drove his
car over her legs. The injury was inadvertent but was direct. The court:
abolished diff between case and trespass and adopted the test
- Intentional – trespass
- Unintentional – negligence.
Wilson v pringle
Battery
Must show D did something that P would object to as an unlawful interference
with P’s life.
- Action based on deliberate contact as opposed to negligent
ASSAULT
• An act which is INTENTIONALLY OR NEGLIGENTLY – causes P to
immediately apprehend a contact with his person.
• Assault is basically battery without physical contact
• Assault doesn’t involve contact, its about fear of contact
• Contact through the senses
• Where you have a battery, you also have an assault
, • You don’t merely apprehend or fear that you’ll be ‘battered’, but you’ll
be physically struck
• The threat you’re apprehending, must be capable of being carried out.
• Doesn’t matter what the P believes, its factually. > for example, if there’s
a gun pointed to someone that wasn’t loaded, it wouldn’t be assault but
if it was loaded, it would.
• D must be able to carry out the actual execution of the threat.
• In other words, if the threat is carried out, the injury will occur.
• Bullet must be in it and D must be able to pull the trigger
Thomas v N.U.M
In crossing a picket line, a number of minors issued threats, The non-striking
minors sued union for conduct and lost. The non-striking minors had police
accompaniment.
Dullaghan v Hillen
Initially, D was verbally abused by P. D retaliated and struck the P and broke his
nose. Here, the court held that
- P’s words in insulting D didn’t amount to an assault.
An exception to words not being assault:
- In an intimidator fashion
R v Ireland
Lord Steen said a silent telephone call may be assault.
- Silence suggested could be an assault
BATTERY
• Direct, intentional and physical contact w/ person
• You MUST PROVE THERE WAS NO CONSENT. < can’t be implied – must
be actually proven.
• But, actionable per se, don’t have to prove harm or injury
• Protects against all permitted contacts irrespective of actual harm or
injury
Humphries v Connor
