Under the transferred intent doctrine, if a defendant intends tortious conduct against one person, but the resulting harm is caused to another person, the defendant is liable to the injured party, irrespective of motive, and defendant’s intent is said to be transferred from the intended person to the person actually harmed.
The law of tort “transfers” intent in two ways:
- from the intended victim to the actual victim; and
- from the intended tort to the actual tort.
Once an actor intends to cause at lease assault, battery, or false imprisonment, the court will find intent even if the actor intends the consequences to one victim but actually causes them to another person or intends one kind of wrongful act (assault) but causes another (battery).
Examples:
- Joe meant to fire his BB gun at Nancy, but missed and hit Bryan. Joe’s intent would transfer from Nancy to Bryan.
- Joe meant to fire his BB gun close to Nancy (assault), but he actually hit her (battery), Joe’s intent would transfer from assault to battery.