Also known as: quoanimo · intent · animo
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A phrase denoting the intention or motive with which an act is performed. Courts examine the actor's purpose or state of mind to determine whether a required mental element such as express malice, fraudulent intent, or intent to create a property interest has been satisfied.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Quade Quincy aims a loaded pistol at his rival and fires at close range, striking a fatal blow. The prosecution proves the shooting was not accidental or in self-defense. The court finds that Quade acted with the deliberate intent to kill, satisfying the express-malice requirement for murder.
Quincy Quan sells land to Quiana Quach and orally promises to build a boundary fence on his retained parcel. The deed contains no mention of the fence. After closing, Quiana sues to enforce the promise. The court examines the parties' intent and holds that the fence promise was independent of the conveyance and therefore survives merger.
Queen Quintero alleges that Quiana Qualls knowingly misrepresented the condition of a business she sold. The complaint details the exact false statements, dates, and Quiana's knowledge that they were false. Because intent may be alleged generally, the pleading satisfies Rule 9(b) and proceeds to discovery.
Quinlan Quezada is charged with arson of a warehouse. The government offers evidence that two years earlier he set fire to a different building owned by the same insurer. The court admits the prior act under Rule 404(b)(2) because it is offered to prove intent rather than character.
Quinn Industries conveys a parcel to Quorum Partners while retaining an adjacent lot. The deed grants Quorum Partners a right of way across the retained land. The court finds that the language and surrounding circumstances manifest Quinn Industries' intent to create a servitude even without an express declaration.
Quokka Apparel's plant manager orders workers to dump toxic waste near a residential area despite knowing the likely health effects. Residents suffer injuries. The court holds that the manager's belief that harm was substantially certain to result satisfies the Restatement definition of intent for battery and trespass claims.
Quo animo focuses on the mental state accompanying the act. In homicide, for example, the same physical act of killing can be murder, manslaughter, or excusable depending on whether the actor possessed express malice, implied malice, or no culpable intent.
Supporting sources
Under Rule 9(b), the circumstances of fraud or mistake must be stated with particularity, but malice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of mind may be alleged generally. This distinction allows plaintiffs to survive dismissal while still providing fair notice of the factual basis for the claim.
…restrictions the State may impose in each one, partakes more of judicial legislation than it does of a determination of the intent of the drafters of the Fourteenth Amendment. The fact that a majority of the States reflecting, after all, the majority sentiment in those States, have had restrictions on abortions for at…
…or punitive damages." He refused to charge, however, that the jury must be "convinced" of malice, in the sense of "actual intent" to harm or "gross negligence and recklessness," to make such an award, and he also refused to require that a verdict for respondent differentiate between compensatory and punitive damages.…
…and throughout the world. The petitioners acknowledge this history but contend that these cases cannot end there. Were their intent to demean the revered idea and reality of marriage, the petitioners’ claims would be of a different order. But that is neither their purpose nor their submission. To the contrary, it is the…
…upon him or notice of the action was filed in the proper registry of probate within one year of his giving bond. The evident intent of this statute is to permit an executor to distribute the estate which he is administering without fear that further liabilities may be outstanding for which he could be held personally…
…limits the discretion of the Board of Building Code Appeals to grant variances to those which are "in harmony with the general intent of such ordinance . . . ." If one of the legitimate objectives of the definition of "family" was to preserve the single (nuclear) family character of East Cleveland, then granting this…
Evidence of other crimes or wrongs is inadmissible to prove character, but it may be admitted when offered for a non-propensity purpose such as proving intent. The court must then weigh the probative value of the evidence on the intent issue against the danger of unfair prejudice.
The intent to create a servitude may be express or implied. No particular form of expression is required. Courts look to the language of the instrument and the surrounding circumstances to determine whether the parties manifested the necessary purpose.
Intent exists when the actor desires to cause the consequences of the act or believes those consequences are substantially certain to result. This definition applies uniformly to intentional torts such as battery, trespass, and conversion.