Many civil lawsuits in New Jersey are the result of an intentional tort. A tort is any kind of wrongful action that results in a person being harmed in some way. When a person carries out a wrongful action in full knowledge of what they are doing, this is referred to as an intentional tort.
One of the simplest examples of an intentional tort is when someone punches another person in the face. It is usually easy to prove that the person who punched the other person in the face acted intentionally. However, a person may be found guilty of performing an intentional tort even if they did not intend to cause the specific harm that they caused. For example, a person who intentionally frightened someone and caused them to have a heart attack committed an intentional tort even if they did not intend to cause the person to have a heart attack.
There are many different categories of intentional torts including battery, assault, false imprisonment and infliction of emotional harm. A claim could also be filed for an intentional tort that involves a fraudulent act, defamation, an invasion of privacy or trespass onto property. If a judge finds that a person committed an intentional tort, they may be ordered to reimburse the victim for damages.
A person who files a civil lawsuit after being harmed by an intentional tort might not win their case initially. Many intentional tort cases must be appealed to higher courts before the plaintiff is able to secure an award for damages. An attorney may be able to help a plaintiff who lost their intentional tort case to file appeals of the original judge’s decision.
