Torts-False Imprisonment Questions
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Apr 3, 2024
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False Imprisonment Questions
1.
During a commercial flight, one of the plane’s three engines stopped working. The captain assured the passengers that the plane could fly safely on its remaining engines and announced that the plane would continue to its scheduled destination. One of the passengers, Pat, was not reassured, and demanded that the plane land at the first available
airport. The captain refused, even though the plane’s flight path would take it close to another airport. The plane continued on course and landed on time an hour later at its scheduled destination. Pat brings an action against the airline for false imprisonment.
Of the following, which constitutes the airline’s strongest argument?
(A)Because the plane landed on time at its original destination, there was no confinement.
a.
Incorrect because there was confinement (B) Because Pat was the only passenger who wanted to land earlier, to have done so would have falsely imprisoned all the other passengers by taking them where they did
not want to go.
(C)
Pat’s confinement was not unlawful.
(D)Pat was not physically harmed by the confinement.
2.
Gilligan’s Island, a small rustic bit of land connected to a mainland town only by a rickety bridge, attracts occasional explorers. Mary Ann was fond of driving her fifteen-
year-old automobile over the bridge and strolling around the island. Her enemy, Ginger, decided to kill her by connecting a bomb to her automobile ignition while Mary Ann was away exploring the island. Ginger’s plan was that, on her return, Mary Ann would turn the ignition key and the bomb would go off, killing her. The plan didn’t work. Between the time that Ginger wired the explosive and Mary Ann’s return to her car, a severe storm
pounded Gilligan’s Island. Because of the age of the car, the hood was not watertight. Rainwater got under the hood, ruining Ginger’s rewiring. When Mary Ann attempted to start her car, the wet, exposed ignition wires would not send current to the engine and the car simply failed to start, trapping Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island for several hours.
Has Ginger’s conduct fulfilled a prima facie case for false imprisonment?
Prima facie- there’s a fact to support each element (A)Yes, because Ginger’s rewiring created a physical barrier that confined Mary Ann to Gilligan’s Island.
a.
Physical barrier usually refers to a physical obstacle like a locked door b.
Intent to confine is not here c.
Only way to find intent to confine is transferred intent d.
Always looking for the best answer
(B)
Yes, under transferred intent: Ginger intended to commit a battery and the consequences of false imprisonment resulted.
a.
Transferred intent does not have to be between two people i.
Can be an act of the same person b.
Transferred intent is not allowed with every tort – you cannot use it with IIED
or conversion
c.
Can use it with battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass to land, and trespass to chattel (C) No, because Ginger intended harmful bodily contact, not unlawful confinement.
(D)No, because Mary Ann voluntarily entered the island.
3.
Well after midnight, the night manager of the Empire Hotel got a call from the River City
Police Department (RCPD) informing her that Sam, a hotel guest, was a terrorist. The caller asked the manager to detain Sam for a few hours until the police could arrange a reliable and safe way to arrest him. The manager agreed. From the late hour, the manager assumed that Sam was in the room. She then locked what she believed to be Sam’s door from the outside. Two hours later, she discovered that she had locked the door to Peter’s room instead of Sam’s. Peter slept through the whole thing, but when he found out that he’d been locked in his room, he sued the Empire Hotel for false imprisonment.
Which of the following statements is correct?
(A)Peter will prevail because he was actually confined.
(B) Peter will prevail if his distress on learning of his prior confinement was severe.
(C)
Peter will lose because he was unaware of the confinement until later, and he suffered
no physical harm as a result of his confinement.
(D)Peter will lose because the manager did not intend to confine him.
4.
Penny operated a small custom jewelry store on the tenth floor of an older building. One evening after closing time, Doug broke into the store to steal jewelry. When he unexpectedly discovered that Penny was still there, Doug cut the phone lines, took the jewelry, and left. He then barricaded the door from the outside so that Penny would be unable to leave the store. When Penny found she couldn’t open the door, she sat down and prepared for a long night. There was a fire escape just outside the window in Penny’s store, but Penny did not use it because she was afraid of heights. By sheer coincidence, an employee came by an hour later to retrieve something he’d forgotten. He
cleared the barricades and freed Penny. Penny brings an action against Doug for false imprisonment.
Which of the following statements is correct?
(A)Penny’s action will fail because her confinement was too short to constitute false imprisonment.
(B) Penny’s action will fail because she failed to use a reasonable means of escape.
a.
For her it wasn’t reasonable because not reasonable means of escape (C) Penny’s action will fail because she suffered no harm.
(D)
Penny has a good false imprisonment claim.
at least some facts that support element of false imprisonment claim 5.
When Potter stopped his car at a red light, Granger ran up to the car, forced open the driver’s door, ordered Potter to move over, and got in. She then brandished a knife and ordered Potter to turn over his wallet and get out. Potter refused, and started screaming for help. Granger then, with Potter in the passenger seat, took off. Potter remained in the
car even when Granger had to stop several times for traffic lights. Finally, Granger abandoned the car in a remote location with Potter still inside.
If Potter brings an action against Granger for false imprisonment, which of the following statements is correct?
(A)
Potter has a strong false imprisonment case.
(B) Potter’s case is weak because he chose to remain in the car rather than follow Granger’s order to turn over the wallet.
a.
Leaving would require him to leave his car and his wallet (C) Potter’s case is weak because the more appropriate action is for assault.
(D)Potter’s case will fail because the more appropriate action is for battery.
Can bring more than one cause of action
Seeing just if it can go to trial – multiple choice Facts
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