Intentional tort
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An intentional tort is a category of torts that describes a civil wrong resulting from an intentional act on the part of the tortfeasor. The term negligence tort, on the other hand, pertains to a tort that simply results from the failure of the tortfeasor to take sufficient care in fulfilling a duty owed.
Not every intentional action qualifies as an intentional tort. Suppose an investor holding more than half of a corporation's stock votes on changes the other stockholders find detrimental. If the other stockholders suffer damages as a result, this is not a tort, as the powerful investor had a right to vote whichever way he liked. Thus, the other stockholders cannot sue the aforementioned investor for damages. If, on the other hand, John Doe physically attacks a passerby in the street, and as a result the passerby incurs medical bills, John is liable for these costs, as he is guilty of the tort of assault.
To find a defendant liable for an intentional tort, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant performed the action leading to the damages the plaintiff alleges, and that the defendant could have reasonably foreseen some harm to the plaintiff, although the full extent of the harm need not be foreseeable. Furthermore, the action must be a recognized "wrongful act." A famous case in the 1800s involved a hemophiliac child who was kicked by another child at school, resulting in the hemophiliac child hemorrhaging to death. Although the kicker could not have reasonably foreseen that the kick would cause death, he certainly could have foreseen that it would cause discomfort, and was found liable.
Common law intentional torts include:
- Assault
- Battery
- Slander and libel
- False imprisonment
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Trespass to land
- Trespass to chattels
- Conversion
The doctrine of transferred intent applies to intentional torts.
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