In this section we will be studying consent in relation to intentional torts to persons or property. An analogous issue in the area of negligent torts is the defense of voluntary assumption of the risk. Consent is not technically a defense or a privilege.
Consent goes to the issue of whether there was intent in the first place.
However, consent is usually an affirmative defense to be plead by the defendant. It is, therefore, conceptually easier to deal with the issue of consent as a defense to be analyzed after the evaluation of the prima facie case is complete. Read the case in the casebook as well as the expanded version here. Be prepared to discuss answers to the questions that follow the case. Plaintiff Reavis was employed by Defendant Slominski as a receptionist in his dental clinic in Falls City, Nebraska.