False Imprisonment in the State of California: It’s More Than You Think

Most of the time, when people think of false imprisonment, they think of people being falsely arrested by the police. Most people are unaware that non-police officers can be responsible for unlawful imprisonment in many different circumstances.

The purpose of this article is to give a brief synopsis of the civil tort of unlawful detainer in the state of California.

A basic definition of false civil imprisonment is; “a person who intentionally detains another within the bounds of a fixed area, without the consent of the detained person and without a privilege that may excuse the conduct.”

For example, let’s say a man locks a woman in a room without her permission. This would be a classic case of unlawful civil imprisonment.

Another example would be a person holding something of value for another person with the intention of keeping it in a certain place and without the consent of the person whose valuables are in possession.

False civil imprisonment could also include a person grabbing another without their consent and holding them so they can’t get out.

There are many other examples of false imprisonment that I can provide, however the above examples are meant to give you an idea of ​​what the civil tort of false imprisonment is in the state of California.

A key element of the false imprisonment civil tort is that the detained person must reasonably believe that they cannot leave. Reasonable is a legal term of art used in the legal world. What reasonable basically means is: what a reasonably prudent person would do or believe in similar circumstances.

Another key element of the false imprisonment error is that the person doing the imprisonment should not have the privilege of doing so.

Examples of privileges that would allow a person to hold another person within the confines of a fixed area are: merchants investigating shoplifting; civilians who have witnessed a felony, and placing the person who committed the felony under citizen’s arrest; or police officers who have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.

As with other intentional wrongs, victims of unlawful imprisonment are entitled to not only compensatory damages, but may also recover punitive damages. (Punishment)

By Norman Gregory Fernández, ESQ. Copyright 2006