Question

Given below are Legal Principles followed by a Factual Situation. Apply the principles followed by a factual Situation. Apply the principle to it and select the most appropriate answer for question among the four choices given.
LEGAL PRINCIPLE: A person, internally causing harm to others, is liable for battery. A person is said to have intended the harm, in so far as he brings about the harm purposefully or knowingly.
FACTUAL SITUATION: A teacher suffering from arthritis problem was moving around the class room in the course of teaching. As she was moving backwards to reach her chair, a student saw a scorpion moving underneath the chair and immediately rushed to attack the chair. Meanwhile, the teacher fell down in the process of taking her seat and broke her hips. A suit was filed against the student for battery.

• A. The student is not liable since he wanted to.
• B. The student is not liable, since he knew that the teacher would be taking her seat.
• C. The student should be held additionally liable for the lack of attention to the teaching.
• D. None of the above.

Answer 1

The correct option is A The student is not liable since he wanted to.

Battery is an intentional tort that involves unwanted physical contact which may or may not cause physical harm. The essential requirements of battery are:

(1) intention

(2) Contact

(3) Harm

(4) Damage

Therefore, there must be an intention to cause unwanted contact that is expected to cause some harm to the plaintiff. But in the present instance this intention is absent as the student did not intend to cause any unwanted contact that would result in some harm to the teacher.