False Imprisonment

False Imprisonment is defined as a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. In order to sue for false imprisonment, the Plaintiff must show that the Defendant intentionally caused the Plaintiff to be unlawfully confined to the specific area. The confinement must be unlawful. An arrest of a suspect by police is not false imprisonment, even if the person arrested later is found to be innocent. However, it is false imprisonment if the police had to authority to make the arrest in the first place. See Martin v. Houck, 54 S.E. 291 (N.C. 1906).

In most cases, False Imprisonment happens as a result of a volitional act by the Defendant. However, the Defendant can be liable even by a mere threat. For example:

D tells P, "If you leave this room, I will kill you!" If D's threat keeps P from leaving the room, he is liable for False Imprisonment., even though he has made no volitional movement to keep P confined.

Confinement means the Plaintiff’s movement must be limited to a specific area, without knowledge of a reasonable means of escape. There are two requirements: First, there must be some specific area in which, through the acts or words of the Defendant, the Plaintiff is completely confined. Second, there must be no reasonable means of escape. If there are reasonable means of escape available to the Plaintiff, there is no confinement and no False Imprisonment. See Davis & Allcott v. Boozer, 110 So. 28 (Ala. 1926). 

EXAMPLE (1): D locks P in a room with no windows or doors. There is confinement with no means of escape. D is liable for False Imprisonment.

EXAMPLE (2): D locks P in a room. There is, however a second door that is unlocked. There is no confinement and hence, no False Imprisonment.

EXAMPLE (3): D locks P in a room. There is a second door that is unlocked, but it is hidden and P doesn't see it. The Plaintiff is under no obligation to search for a means of escape, therefore, there is confinement and liability.

EXAMPLE (4): D locks P in a room on the third floor of a building. There is a window in the room with a ladder standing outside the window. Since D can climb down the ladder, there is a reasonable means of escape. Therefore, there is no confinement and no liability for False Imprisonment.

Please keep in mind that the means of escape available to the plaintiff must be reasonable. That is to say, the means of escape must provide the plaintiff with a way out of his confinement that does not involve the plaintiff risking his life or safety. The Plaintiff is not required to risk his own safety in order to escape. For example:

D locks P in a room on the third floor of a building. There is a window in the room that looks out onto the street. The window is approximately forty-five feet above the street. Here, there is confinement because, although the window is technically a means of escape, it is not a reasonable means of escape since the plaintiff could seriously injure, if not kill, himself by going out the window.

Additionally, the Plaintiff is not required to break the law in order to secure his freedom.

As we previously noted, confinement can be brought about by either the Defendant's actions or threats. Even if these threats are only against the Plaintiffs property, he is still liable. If, however, the Plaintiff is confined by the threat of future harm, there is no liability. For example:

D says to P, "If you leave this room, I will hurt your child when he comes home from school." This will not give rise to False Imprisonment because P has been threatened with future harm, as opposed to current harm.

Confinement can also be brought about by the placement of a physical barrier such as a locked door or fence. Additionally, if the Defendant refuses to release the Plaintiff or to help him leave when he has a duty to do so, also represents a barrier. For example:

A prison guard refuses to allow a paroled inmate out of his cell. This is confinement which gives rise to liability. See Whittaker v. Sanford, 85 A. 399 (Me. 1912).

Note that liability arises the minute the Defendant completes the confinement. Note this example:

The Plaintiff is asleep in his room when the Defendant comes by and locks the door. The Defendant unlocks the door before the Plaintiff wakes up so that the plaintiff does not know that he was falsely imprisoned. Here, although the Plaintiff did not know that he was imprisoned, the Defendant can still be liable because the False Imprisonment was completed the minute the Defendant locked the door, even though the Plaintiff was not aware.

Also note that the Plaintiff can recover, not only for the confinement, but also for injuries suffered during a reasonable attempt to escape. See Sindle v. NYC Transit Authority, 33 N.Y.2d 293 (1973).

However, the Plaintiff cannot recover for injuries sustained during unreasonable attempts to escape. Here are two examples:

EXAMPLE (1): Defendant locks the plaintiff in a room on the first floor of a building. The room has a window that stands three feet above the street. While stepping out of the window in order to escape, Plaintiff twists his ankle. Because this was a reasonable attempt to escape, Plaintiff can recover both for the confinement and for the injuries he suffered while trying to escape.

EXAMPLE (2): Defendant locks the plaintiff in a room on the fifth floor of a building. The room has a window that stands fifty feet above the street. While stepping out of the window in order to escape, Plaintiff falls and breaks his neck. Because this was an unreasonable attempt to escape, Plaintiff can recover only for the confinement but not for the injuries he suffered while trying to escape.