MBE Rules · Torts
False imprisonment
The rule
Intentional act causing confinement of plaintiff to a bounded area, of which plaintiff is aware OR harmed by. Confinement: physical barriers, force, threats, invalid assertion of legal authority. NOT confinement: a reasonable means of escape known to plaintiff.
In plain English
False imprisonment happens when someone intentionally traps another person in a space without a way out, and the person knows they're trapped or gets hurt by it.
Worked example
The defendant locks the buyer in a room during a dispute, and the buyer can't leave because there's no key. The buyer realizes they're trapped, so it's false imprisonment.
Memory hook
Locked in or locked out? False imprisonment needs no way out. Intentional act with no escape, aware or harmed is the shape.
The trap
Students think: Any restraint counts. Wrong, because there must be no reasonable escape known to plaintiff. The actual test is awareness or harm by confinement.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: a door is open or an exit is available. Question: is it confinement? Trap: students miss that plaintiff must not know of a reasonable escape route.
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