Picard v. Barry Pontiac-Buick, Inc.

Picard v. Barry Pontiac-Buick, Inc., 654 A.2d 690 (R.I. 1995) is a Rhode Island Supreme Court case often cited in tort law text books to explain the legal concept of battery.

Picard was unhappy about her mechanic's brake inspection and contacted a local television news "troubleshooter" reporter. When she returned for a reinspection, she took a picture of the mechanic inspecting the brakes on her car. The mechanic turned around, approached her, pointed his finger at her, and questioned her taking a picture of him. He intentionally touched her camera with his finger. Picard claimed that when she spun around her back was injured.^[1]

The trial court awarded Picard $60,366 in compensatory damages and an additional $6,350 in punitive damages. The Supreme Court held that the mechanic committed battery, because the mechanic caused an offensive or unconsensual touching upon the body of Picard, regardless of the mechanic's intent to injure. Items attached to or identified with the plaintiff's body, such as the camera, also count. The court also found that the mechanic committed assault. The court vacated the award and remanded for a new trial on damages.

References

^ "Chapter 12". Professor Zittrain, Harvard Law school. Retrieved May 5, 2008.

External links

"Picard v. Barry Pontiac – Buick, Inc". Legal Resource Centre. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2008.

United States tort law

Intentional Torts

Assault & Battery	Garratt v. Dailey Katko v. Briney Vosburg v. Putney Picard v. Barry Pontiac-Buick, Inc. Sheridan v. United States
Abuse of process	Hartman v. Moore
intentional infliction of emotional distress	Snyder v. Phelps Hustler Magazine v. Falwell
Trespass to land & Trespass to chattels	Rowland v. Christian CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. Dougherty v. Stepp Intel Corp. v. Hamidi United Zinc & Chemical Co. v. Britt Sioux City & Pacific Railroad Co. v. Stout
Conversion	Haslem v. Lockwood Popov v. Hayashi
Privacy, Publicity rights	Taus v. Loftus Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co.
Tortious interference	Redbox Automated Retail LLC v. Universal City Studios LLLP
Defamation	See United States defamation law

Negligence

Duty of care	Brown v. Kendall Trimarco v. Klein Jablonski by Pahls v. United States Kerans v. Porter Paint Co. Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. Mexicali Rose v. Superior Court
Medical malpractice	Landeros v. Flood Union Pacific Railway Co. v. Botsford Mohr v. Williams Schloendorff v. Society of New York Hospital Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California Scott v. Bradford
Wrongful death, Loss of consortium	Cahoon v. Cummings Hitaffer v. Argonne Co. Werling v. Sandy
Common employment	Albro v. Agawam Canal Co. Farwell v. Boston & Worcester Railroad Corp. Vance v. Ball State University
Public Authority, Fireman's rule, Negligence per se	Boub v. Township of Wayne Briscoe v. LaHue United States v. GlaxoSmithKline Seong Sil Kim v. New York City Transit Authority United States v. Johnson (1987) Martin v. Herzog Tedla v. Ellman Yount v. City of Sacramento Pearson v. Callahan Saucier v. Katz
Causation	Summers v. Tice Ybarra v. Spangard Ultramares Corp. v. Touche Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.
Negligent infliction of emotional distress	Krouse v. Graham Dillon v. Legg Archibald v. Braverman Thing v. La Chusa Miller v. National Broadcasting Co. Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals

Nuisance

Public	Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.
Private	Boomer v. Atlantic Cement Co.

Strict liability

Ultrahazardous activity	Alwin v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co.
Product liability	Thomas v. Winchester Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories Friend v. Childs Dining Hall Co. Loop v. Litchfield Losee v. Clute Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Thompson Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. Chysky v. Drake Bros. Co. Devlin v. Smith

Damages

Joint and several liability	Walt Disney World Co. v. Wood
Comparative negligence	Li v. Yellow Cab Co. Knight v. Jewett Hoffman v. Jones American Motorcycle Ass'n v. Superior Court
Punitive damages	BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants Pearson v. Chung Honda Motor Co. v. Oberg State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell