Also known as: hostilities · hostile · acts of hostility
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A witness whose interests align with an opposing party or who shows antagonism toward the examining party. This status permits leading questions on direct examination to develop testimony.
A witness whose interests align with an opposing party or who shows antagonism toward the examining party. This status permits leading questions on direct examination to develop testimony.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Possession of land that is without permission and asserted against the true owner's rights. Hostility is an essential element of adverse possession that must continue for the statutory period.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Personal animosity or ill will that motivates an act. Liability for assault, false imprisonment, and related torts does not require the actor to have been inspired by personal hostility.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Possession of land that is without permission and asserted against the true owner's rights. Hostility is an essential element of adverse possession that must continue for the statutory period.
Personal animosity or ill will that motivates an act. Liability for assault, false imprisonment, and related torts does not require the actor to have been inspired by personal hostility.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Liberty called Tabitha, Apex's former property manager, on direct examination. Tabitha had overseen the apartment complex during the period of alleged concealment and later joined Liberty. The court permitted leading questions because Tabitha remained identified with the adverse party Apex at the time of the events.
Congress declared war on a foreign nation. The declaration placed the two countries in a state of hostility, triggering rights and disabilities under the law of war even though no personal animosity existed between individual citizens.
A party may use leading questions on direct when the witness is hostile, is an adverse party, or is identified with an adverse party. The rule prevents an opposing side from shielding unfavorable testimony through its own aligned witness.
Supporting sources
Benjamin's startup installed cable and drove maintenance trucks across the data center's gravel path weekly from 2005 onward. No permission was ever granted. The use continued openly after ownership changes, satisfying the hostility element for a prescriptive easement claim.
Hostility requires that the possessor occupy the land without permission and in opposition to the true owner's rights. Good-faith mistaken belief that the land is one's own satisfies the element and permits tacking of successive periods.
Supporting sources
A store security guard locked a suspected shoplifter in an office to await police. The guard acted solely to prevent loss and felt no personal ill will toward the individual. Liability for false imprisonment still attached because the confinement was intentional.
During a heated negotiation, one party raised a fist and threatened to strike the other if a deal was not accepted. The threat was made to close the transaction, not from personal hatred. The actor remained liable for assault.
A homeowner struck an intruder with a bat to stop an advancing attack. The homeowner felt no personal hostility and acted only to protect family members. The privilege of self-defense applied regardless of the absence of animosity.
No. Liability arises from the intentional act itself. The absence of personal hostility or desire to offend does not defeat a claim when the elements of assault or confinement are otherwise met.
Supporting sources
…enacted precisely to protect the rights of those whose religious practices are not shared by the majority and may be viewed with hostility. The history of our free exercise doctrine amply demonstrates the harsh impact majoritarian rule has had on unpopular or emerging religious groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the…