Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc. - 424 S.W.2d 627, 1967 Tex. LEXIS 267, 11 Tex. Sup. J. 143;

Material Facts:

The plaintiff attended a professional conference at the defendant’s hotel. During lunch, a staff of the defendant hotel forcefully seized a plate from the plaintiff’s hand by pulling on the plate. Although the employee of the defendant did not actually make physical contact with the body of the plaintiff, the plaintiff brought an action against the defendant hotel for assault and battery.

Issue:

Whether or not the action of the employee constitutes battery.

Holding:

When a defendant makes contact with an object to which the plaintiff is intimately attached, the defendant is deemed to have touched the plaintiff. This can be clothing or any other object closely identified with the body of the defendant. The principle in this case is that actual physical contact is not necessary to constitute battery as discussed earlier.