FALSE IMPRISONMENT

False imprisonment is an intentional tort.

This is the infliction of body restraint which is not expressly authorized by law
It can also be defined as a restraint of a person within a bounded or a limited area
without justification or consent.
This can occur in a building, on the streets, in a vehicle, or any other place, in which
a person is restrained, against his will, from moving, whether physically or by
intimidation.

ACTS CONSIDERED TO BE FALSE IMPRISONMENT

• Locking a person in a room without his consent.
• Taking hostages during a robbery.
• Holding something of great value to a person, with the intention of coercing him
to stay in a certain place.
• Physically detaining a person, preventing him from leaving.
• Detaining an employee for an unreasonable amount of time based on
suspected theft.
TERMS:
Confinement:
The plaintiff’s movement has been limited to a specific area with no reasonable
means of escape.
The confinement must be unlawful. Therefore in order to sue for false
imprisonment, the plaintiff must show that the defendant intentionally caused
the plaintiff to be unlawfully confined to a specific area.

Means of Escape:
False imprisonment can only occur when the plaintiff has no reasonable means of
escape without risking harm to himself.
MAIN INGREDIENTS OF THE TORT
a) Knowledge of the Plaintiff
The knowledge of the restraint or confinement is not necessary but may affect the
quantum of damages. False imprisonment can occur even if the victim is unaware of it at
the time .An example;
The plaintiff is asleep in his room when the defendant comes by and locks the door.
The defendant unlocks before the plaintiff wakes up so that the plaintiff does not know
he was falsely imprisoned. Here, although the plaintiff did not know that he was falsely
imprisoned, the defendant can still be liable for false imprisonment.
According to Lord Aktin, a person can be falsely imprisoned while he is asleep, in a state of
drunkenness ,while unconscious or while he is a lunatic.
b) Intention and directness
The tort of false imprisonment must be intentional and should be committed directly, that
is, for reason of lack of intention or directness the defendant won’t be liable for false
imprisonment.
It is defined to exclude negligent imprisonment of another person.
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c) The restraint must be complete
There must be a total restraint placed upon the plaintiff’s freedom of action such that
there is no means of escape. If there is a reasonable means of escape, the restraint cannot
amount to false imprisonment.
However, If the means of escape causes risk of personal injury or if it is otherwise