Because the trial court refused to allow Muniz to bring a negligence claim for procedural reasons, we do not address the negligence issues present here. In White versus Muniz, the Colorado Supreme Court considered this dispute in a battery case brought against an elderly woman suffering from senile dementia.In October 1993, Barbara White moved her eighty-three-year-old grandmother, Helen Everly, into a nursing home in Longmont, Colorado. The jury found in Defendants favor having concluded that Everly lacked the requisite intent to sustain a cause of action. 118 Idaho 400, 797 P.2d at 109. In November of 1994, Muniz filed suit alleging assault and battery3 against Everly, and negligence against Barbara and Timothy White.4 The case proceeded to a jury trial on March 17, 1997.5 While arguing outside the presence of the jury for specific jury instructions, the parties took differing positions on the mental state required to commit the alleged intentional torts. Procedural History: Trial ct found for Everly and White (Munizs counsel had objected to part Does an intentional tort require some proof that the tortfeasor not only intended to contact another person, but also intended that the contact be harmful or offensive to the other person? While at the home, Everly showed signs of dementia, becoming easily agitated and acting aggressive. This chapter summarizes the various common-law rules dealing with the obligations of owners of land, and the more modern rules that have sometimes replaced the common-law ones. See id. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. Plaintiff filed a suit for assault and battery but the court ruled in favor of the elderly woman and her granddaughter. White v. Muniz Colorado Court 2000 Pg. See 13-21-111, 5 C.R.S. We held that although a child need not intend the resulting harm, the child must understand that the contact may be harmful in order to be held liable. Alexander Hamilton went furthe Subject of law: Chapter 1. In his report, the guardian ad litem concluded that Everly suffered from senile dementia, Alzheimer type, in accordance with the medical reports. See University of Idaho, 118 Idaho 400, 797 P.2d at 111. Appellate ct held instruction to be error and reversed. out of the room. The next day, Dr. Haven Howell, M.D. person, but also that the contact be harmful or offensive to the other person? In October of 1993, Barbara White placed her eighty-three year-old grandmother, Helen Everly, in an assisted living facility, the Beatrice Hover Personal Care Center. Respondent was convicted under Georgias anti-sodomy statute for engaging in a sex act with another male. The question we here address is whether an intentional tort requires some proof that the tortfeasor not only intended to contact another person, but also intended that the contact be harmful or offensive to the other person. White v. Muniz. On November 21, 1993, the caregiver in charge of Everly's wing asked Sherry Lynn Muniz, a shift supervisor at Hover, to change Everly's adult diaper. The officer thought he smelled alcohol on one of the individuals breath and began sobriety tests. The plaintiff need not prove, however, that the actor intended the harm that actually results. Plaintiff filed a suit. Trespassers: As a general rule, the landowner owes no duty to a trespasser to make her land Subject of law: Chapter 9. Chapter 9 Contact us. Everly was resident with dementia. See Restatement, supra, 18 cmt. This did not surprise Muniz because she knew that Everly sometimes acted obstinately. Three theories: There are three main theories under which a seller of a chattel ca Subject of law: Chapter 14. However, she must have appreciated the offensiveness of her conduct. According to the Restatement:[I]t is necessary that an act be done for the purpose of bringing about a harmful or offensive contact to another or to a third person or with knowledge that such a result will, to a substantial certainty, be produced by his act. Audio opinion coming soon. Everly has been diagnosed with dementia. https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overviewHave Questions about this Case? The Florida Star published a one-paragraph article on B.J.F.s robbery and rape and included her full name. Everly, an elderly, incontinent woman, suffered from senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. A jury, as trier of fact, may conclude that a mentally deficient person is liable for tortious conduct; however, in so doing the jury must find that the actor intended offensive or harmful consequences. 999 P.2d 814 (Colo. 2000) Facts: White is the rep of Everly, her grandmother. White tendered a different instruction: The trial court settled on a slightly modified version of White's instruction. See Restatement, supra, 8A; Keeton, supra, 8; 6 Am.Jur.2d Assault and Battery 8 (1999). CHAPTER 8 On one occasion, she struck plaintiff care-giver in the jaw. See Mujica v. Turner, 582 So. Furthermore, because the mentally disabled are held to the reasonable person standard in negligence actions, victims may find relief more easily under a negligence cause of action.9 See Johnson v. Lambotte, 147 Colo. 203, 206, 363 P.2d 165, 166 (1961). Because Colorado law requires a dual intent, we apply here the Restatement's definition of the term. A police officer found two individuals in a car parked on the side of a highway. 1991); Anicet v. Gant, 580 So. The last paragraph of Instruction 13 cures the error to some extent because the court instructed the jury that the defendant "must have appreciated the offensiveness of her conduct.". 6. She diagnosed Everly with "[p]rimary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type, senile onset, with depression.". We granted certiorari to determine: Whether the element of intent in an intentional tort requires that the defendant appreciate the offensiveness of her conduct, and whether the court of appeals erred by refusing to apply this court's rule in Horton v. Reaves, 186 Colo. 149, 526 P.2d 304 (1974), to a mentally incapacitated adult. Because we received this issue in the context of an assault and battery, we answer this question in regard to those intentional torts only. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Annual Subscription ($175 / Year), Citation. Barbara WHITE, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Helen Everly, Deceased, Petitioner, Petitioner, Barbara White, as personal representative of the estate of Helen Everly, appeals the decision of the court of appeals in Muniz v. White, 979 P.2d 23, 25 (Colo.App.1998), which determined that a mentally incapacitated adult should be held liable for her intentional tort even if she was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions.1 We disagree with the court of appeals. Please check your email and confirm your registration. TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. 1996); Restatement, supra, 13. Prior to trial, Everly passed away, and White, as personal representative of Everlys estate, was substituted as the defendant. Citation478 U.S. 186, 106 S. Ct. 2841, 92 L. Ed. Shortly after having taken residence at Beatrice Hover Personal Care Center, an adult assisted living facility, eighty-three year-old Helen Everly (Defendant) struck Sherry Lynn Muniz (Plaintiff), a professional caregiver at the center. [5] While arguing outside the presence of the jury for specific jury instructions, the parties took differing positions on the mental state required to commit the alleged intentional torts. In selecting the instruction on intent, the trial court determined that Everly's condition rendered her mental state comparable to that of a child. Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Casebriefs is concerned with your security, please complete the following, Supported Credit Cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, LSAT Logic Games (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning I (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning II (June 2007 Practice Exam), You can opt out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our newsletter, I Agree to the End-User License Agreement, Establishing A Claim For Intentional Tort To Person Or Property, The Lawyer-Client Privilege and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, PART I. White v. Muniz Dual intent jurisdiction requires actor to understand that contact would be harmful Hall v. McBride Transfer of intent; intended to assault people on his property by aiming gun, instead shot neighbor across the street Baker v. Shymkiv Introduction to Individual Rights, The Elusive Element of Duty: Two Principles in Search of an Exception, Constitutional Rights During Police Interrogation. Summary of this case from White v. Muniz. Annual Subscription ($175 / Year). Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=QuimbeeDotComQuimbee Case Brief App https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overviewFacebook https://www.facebook.com/quimbeedotcom/Twitter https://twitter.com/quimbeedotcom#casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries [1] We granted certiorari to determine: "Whether the element of `intent' in an intentional tort requires that the defendant appreciate the offensiveness of her conduct, and whether the court of appeals erred by refusing to apply this court's rule in Horton v. Reaves, 186 Colo. 149, 526 P.2d 304 (1974), to a mentally incapacitated adult." As a result, insanity is not a defense to an intentional tort according to the ordinary use of that term, but is a characteristic, like infancy, that may make it more difficult to prove the intent element of battery. See Restatement, supra, 16(1). Muniz v. White - 979 P.2d 23 (Colo. App. This Chapter examines various devices that either enlarge the number of claims between the existing parties to a litigation, or bring new parties into the litigation. See Horton, 186 Colo. at 155-56, 526 P.2d at 307-08. Because White v. Muniz, supra, did not arise under the Act, we do not read the definition of battery approved in that case to apply in the context of evaluating whether an employee's tort claim is barred by the exclusivity provisions of the Act. You may find that she acted intentionally if she intended to do what she did, even though her reasons and motives were entirely irrational. The fact that a person may suffer from Dementia, Alzheimer type, does not prevent a finding that she acted intentionally. Establishing A Claim For Intentional Tort To Person Or Property, Casebriefs is concerned with your security, please complete the following, Tort Law: Aims, Approaches, And Processes, Negligence: The Breach Or Negligence Element Of The Negligence Case, Negligence: The Scope Of Risk Or 'Proximate Cause' Requirement, Duties Of Medical And Other Professionals, The Development Of Common Law Strict Liability, Public Compensation Systems, Including Social Security, Communication Of Personally Harmful Impressions To Others, Communication Of Commercially Harmful Impressions To Others, LSAT Logic Games (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning I (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning II (June 2007 Practice Exam), You can opt out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our newsletter. Everly was resident with dementia. White was granddaughter of Everly who placed her into the facility. We held that although a child need not intend the resulting harm, the child must understand that the contact may be harmful in order to be held liable. Knapp & Sachs, P.C., Benjamin Sachs, Debra Knapp, Denver, Colorado; Law Office of Kathleen Mullen, P.C., Kathleen Mullen, Denver, Colorado; The Legal Center For People With Disabilities And Older People, Chester R. Chapman, Claire Williamson, Denver, Colorado; Law Offices of John Robert Holland, P.C., John Robert Holland, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Amici Curiae AARP, The Alzheimer's Association (National), The Alzheimer's Association Rocky Mountain Chapter, The ARC of Colorado, Guardianship Alliance of Colorado, The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People, and National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. Wilcox & Ogden, P.C., Ralph Ogden, Denver, Colorado Attorneys for Amicus Curiae The Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. To this end, the Constitution apportions or divides the powers of the national government among three dif Subject of law: Chapter 7. A link to your Casebriefs LSAT Prep Course Workbook will begin to download upon confirmation of your email See Brzoska, 668 A.2d at 1360 (approving the Restatement view of the intent element of a battery, but summarizing the rule as the intentional, unpermitted contact upon the person of another which is harmful or offensive) (emphasis added); Keeton, supra, 8 (noting that applying the element of intent frequently confuses authorities). Did not surprise Muniz because she knew that Everly sometimes acted obstinately White is the of..., Citation ruled in favor of the Alzheimer type, does not prevent a finding that she intentionally. Personal representative of Everlys estate, was substituted as the defendant court settled a. 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