Wallace v. Rosen

Court of Appeals of Indiana, 2002
765 N.E.2d 192

Facts
Defendant (Rosen) was a teacher at a school in Indianapolis which had a fire drill while classes were in session.  The plaintiff (Wallace) was visiting the school on this day to deliver homework to her daughter, and happened to be recovering from foot surgery.  As the students were filing down the stairs to evacuate the building, the defendant noticed the plaintiff and a few students blocking other students’ exits at the top of the stairway.  Defendant did not recognize any of the individuals, and approached telling everyone to move it.  Plaintiff claims she was pushed down the stairs, while defendant denies pushing but admits to touching the plaintiffs back in an effort to get her to move out of the building.

Procedural History
Trial by jury and verdict in favor of the defendant.  The plaintiff then raised an appeal.

Issues
Whether the trial court erred in refusing to give her tendered jury instructions regarding battery.

Holding/Decision
Plaintiff failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing the battery instruction.

Reasoning
For battery to be an appropriate instruction, the evidence had to support an inference not only that Rosen intentionally touched Wallace, but that she did so in a rude, insolent, or angry manner (this would have established intention).

Conclusion
In a crowded world, a certain amount of personal contact is inevitable and must be accepted.  During a fire alarm individuals standing in the middle of a stairway could expect that a certain amount of personal contact would be inevitable.

Dissent
None