这是美国侵权法的一些概论以及上课时的案例,颇有价值,分享给大家

A. PRIMA FACIE CASETo establish a prima facie case for intentional tort liability, it is generally necessary that the plaintiff prove the following:

(i)Act by defendant; (ii) Intent; and(iii) Causation.

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Act by Defendant The “act” requirement for intentional tort liability refers to volitional movement on defendant’s part.Examples: 1) Chauncey tripped and was falling. To break the fall, Chauncey stretched out his hand, which struck Darby. Even though movement was reflexive, it was not volitional. 2) Lulu suffered an epileptic heart attack. During the course of it, she struck Darby. This is not a volitional act. 3) Chauncey pushed Lulu into Darby. Chauncey has committed a volitional act; Lulu has not.Intent The requisite intent for this type of tort liability may be either specific or general.a. b. c. d. Specific Intent An Actor “intends” the consequences of his conduct if his goal in acting is to bring about these consequences.General IntentAn actor “intends” the consequences of his conduct if he knows with substantial certainty that the consequences will result.Example: D, five years old, pulls a chair out from under P as she is sitting down. Even if D did not desire that she hit the ground, if he knew with substantial certainty that she was trying to sit and would hit the ground, he will have the intent necessary for batter. [Garrat v. Dailey] Actor Need not Intend Injury (Eggshell Skull Doctrine)The intent of the actor that is relevant for the purposes of intentional torts is the intent to bring about the consequences that are the basis of the tort. Thus, a person may be liable even for an unintended injury if he intended to bring about such “basis of the tort” consequences.Example: A intends to kick B and does so. B’s leg gets infected and falls off. The actor intended to bring about harmful or offensive contact to B. Hence, he will be liable even though it was not intended that B’s leg fall off. [Vogsburg v. Putney]Transferred Intent