ABSTRACT
Prosser (Schwartz, Kelly, and Partlett, 2005) says, “Misrepresentation runs all through the law of torts, as a method of accomplishing various types of tortuous conduct that, for reasons of historical development or as a matter of convenience, usually are grouped under categories of their own.” He illustrates this by saying, “Thus, a battery may be committed by feeding the plaintiff poisoned chocolates or by inducing his consent to a physical contact by misrepresenting its character. …” He goes on to add, “… false imprisonment may result from a pretense of authority to make an arrest, a trespass to land from fraudulent statements inducing another to enter, or a conversion from obtaining possession of goods by false representations, and a malicious lie may give rise to a cause of action for the intentional infliction of mental suffering.” Misrepresentation is a distinct cause of action commonly associated with the common law action of deceit (p. 1022).
