Also known as: offensive contacts · offensive touching
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A bodily contact that offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity. The contact need not cause physical injury. It supports battery liability when the actor intends to cause it and the contact occurs directly or indirectly.
Octavia Okonkwo reached across the table and flicked Orlando Okafor on the ear while arguing over a shared project deadline. Orlando recoiled and later described the gesture as humiliating in front of colleagues. The contact satisfied the requirement for an offensive touching because Octavia acted with the purpose of causing the demeaning contact that resulted.
Dominic swatted a coworker's VR headset intending the motion to embarrass a nearby junior developer. The headset instead struck Marie in the face and dislodged her glasses. The resulting contact with Marie counted as offensive because Dominic's original purpose to produce an insulting touching transferred to the actual victim.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A supervisor patted a trainee's cheek and pinched it lightly during a training demonstration. The trainee had stated minutes earlier that she disliked any physical contact. The light pinch constituted an offensive contact because it occurred after the trainee's clear statement and therefore violated her personal dignity.
Jordan grabbed a headset cord and whipped it toward Vernon's face while snarling a threat. The cord struck Vernon on the cheek. The contact counted as offensive because it offended personal dignity even though it caused no physical injury.
Sarah reared back and lunged toward Megan with a handheld radio in a narrow eight-foot room. The radio struck Megan on the shoulder. The contact was offensive because it violated Megan's personal dignity after the sudden threatening motion.
Tabitha swung a torque wrench halfway toward Kathleen's helmeted head and declared a conditional threat about future miscalibration. The wrench struck the helmet. Tabitha remained liable for battery because the contact offended personal dignity even though the attempt was later abandoned.
No. The intent element is satisfied when the actor intends to cause a contact that offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity. Physical injury is not required.
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Yes. Unpermitted intentional contact with anything customarily regarded as part of the person's body, such as clothing or a held object, satisfies the element when it offends personal dignity.
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No. The actor must act with the purpose of causing the offensive contact or with substantial certainty that it will result. An unreasonable risk of offensive contact without that intent supports only a negligence claim.
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Yes. The intent to cause offensive contact with one person transfers to the actual victim when the act produces the offensive contact on the unintended plaintiff.
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…purpose in doing so; that he did not have any intent to injure the plaintiff, or any intent to bring about any unauthorized or offensive contact with her person or any objects appurtenant thereto; that the circumstances which immediately preceded the fall of the plaintiff established that the defendant, Brian Dailey, did not have…