assault and battery, false imprisonment, and willful and wan

Assault and Battery

• Assault involves creating a reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact. The threat or fear is sufficient, and no actual physical contact is required. 
  
  
   
• Battery is the actual intentional harmful or offensive physical contact with another person. It requires an intent to make contact, and the contact itself must be harmful or offensive. 
  
  
   
• Key Distinction: Assault is about the threat of contact, while battery is the actual harmful or offensive contact. 
  
  
   

False Imprisonment 

 

• This is the intentional and unlawful confinement or restraint of a person against their will.
• Examples: It could involve a store owner wrongly detaining a suspected shoplifter or a person being held against their will in a location.

Willful and Wanton Conduct

• This describes a high level of fault, essentially acting with a conscious disregard for the probable or possible consequences of one's actions. 
• It goes beyond mere negligence and suggests a severe carelessness or a disregard for the safety of others. 
• Consequences: In civil lawsuits, willful and wanton conduct can lead to punitive or exemplary damages, which are meant to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior.