Personal safety and physical freedom represent the most fundamental rights protected under civil jurisprudence.
1. Assault
An intentional act that creates in the mind of the plaintiff a reasonable apprehension of immediate physical contact or battery. No physical contact is required; the threat is sufficient.
2. Battery
The intentional application of physical force to another person without any lawful justification (e.g., throwing water or slapping). It requires physical contact, however slight.
3. False Imprisonment
The complete and total restraint of a person's liberty of movement in any direction without lawful justification.
- Bird v. Jones (1845): Enclosing a public pathway and letting the plaintiff proceed in another direction is not false imprisonment, as the restraint was not complete.