Posted: September 7th, 2017

I am walking out of the mall, where I just bought a new (real) fur coat. An anti-fur-coat activist comes up to me with a can of paint and tells me that if I don’t turn around and return the coat, he will throw the paint on my coat. In response, I call him a swear word. He makes a motion as if he is throwing the paint toward me. The lid is still on the can of paint (though I could not see this before), and it is his intent to startle me, not actually spill the paint on me. Unfortunately, the paint can is defective, and the lid comes off. My coat gets covered with paint. Can I successfully sue this guy for battery?

I am walking out of the mall, where I just bought a new (real) fur coat. An anti-fur-coat
activist comes up to me with a can of paint and tells me that if I don’t turn around and return the
coat, he will throw the paint on my coat. In response, I call him a swear word. He makes a
motion as if he is throwing the paint toward me. The lid is still on the can of paint (though I
could not see this before), and it is his intent to startle me, not actually spill the paint on me.
Unfortunately, the paint can is defective, and the lid comes off. My coat gets covered with paint.
Can I successfully sue this guy for battery?
a) Yes, because he intended to assault me.
b) No, because the paint touched my coat, but not me, and battery requires contact with my
“person.”
c) No, because he did not actually intend to throw the paint.
d) No, because I provoked him.