- 1 Marks
BCL – L1 – SA – Q26 – Tort
Question
Donny threw a knife at Sally, intending to injure her severely. However, Donny missed Sally. Sally saw the knife just as it whizzed by her head, missing it by about one inch. As a result, Sally was very scared. Sally sued Donny for assault and battery. Which of the following is most correct?
A Donny will be liable for battery, but not assault.
B Donny will be liable for assault, but not battery.
C Donny will be liable for assault and for battery.
D Donny will not be liable for either assault or battery because this is only a criminal matter.
Answer
B
Explanation:
Assault is an intentional act that causes reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. Battery requires actual physical contact. In this scenario, Donny threw a knife at Sally with intent to injure, causing her to fear imminent harm as the knife narrowly missed her. This satisfies the elements of assault. However, since the knife did not make contact with Sally, there was no battery. Option B is correct because Donny is liable for assault but not battery. Option A is incorrect because there was no contact for battery. Option C is incorrect because battery did not occur. Option D is incorrect because assault and battery are civil torts, not exclusively criminal matters.
- Tags: Assault, Battery, Intentional Tort, Tort
- Level: Level 1
- Topic: Tort
- Uploader: Samuel Duah