Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff was a passenger on a school bus owned by Defendant transit authority and driven by Defendant Mooney. Students aboard the bus were behaving rather disobediently and causing damage to the bus despite Defendant’s admonitions. Ultimately, Defendant bypassed the usual stops and took the Plaintiff and a few other students to a police station.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. Reasonable restraint or detention undertaken with the aim of preventing another from inflicting personal injury or damaging property is not unlawful.
Generally, restraint or detention, reasonable under the circumstances and in time and manner, imposed for the purpose of preventing another from inflicting personal injuries or interfering with or damaging real or personal property in one's lawful possession or custody, is not unlawful.
View Full Point of LawIssue. Did the trial court abuse its discretion in excluding the evidence of justification proffered by Defendants?
Held. Yes. The judgment was reversed and remanded for a new trial.
* One is justified in restraining or detaining another in a manner reasonable under the circumstances to prevent personal injury or damage to property, and evidence regarding such justification should not have been excluded in evaluating this claim of false imprisonment.
* A parent, guardian, or teacher entrusted with care of a child is justified in using that physical force reasonably necessary for discipline or the child’s own welfare.
* It is the Defendant’s burden to plead and prove justification.
Discussion. The Court introduces the defense of justification for the use of physical force. In finding justification, the Court focuses upon the bus driver’s role as the supervisor of the students on the bus, creating a special relationship between the parties. The Court also notes that the burden is on the Defendant to prove justifice.