Also known as: transitory action
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A quality of gestures or confinements that are brief or passing in nature. Publication by such gestures constitutes slander rather than libel. A merely transitory confinement does not create liability without the requisite intent.
A quality of gestures or confinements that are brief or passing in nature. Publication by such gestures constitutes slander rather than libel. A merely transitory confinement does not create liability without the requisite intent.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A characteristic of actions or causes of action that follow the defendant and may be brought in any forum where the defendant is found. Venue statutes determine proper forum without regard to whether an action is local or transitory in nature.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A characteristic of actions or causes of action that follow the defendant and may be brought in any forum where the defendant is found. Venue statutes determine proper forum without regard to whether an action is local or transitory in nature.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Tori Taylor stood on a public sidewalk and shouted false accusations that Tiffany Torres had stolen client funds. The statements reached several bystanders who repeated them to others in the community. Because the defamatory matter was conveyed by spoken words and transitory gestures rather than written form, the court classified the claim as slander.
Trevor Tate ordered orderlies to wheel Thaddeus Tran into a supply room and close the door for twenty minutes while a supervisor reviewed paperwork. Tran remained awake and aware of the restraint but suffered no physical harm. The court held that the brief, transitory confinement did not support false imprisonment liability absent intent to impose a more serious restraint.
A publication made by spoken words or transitory gestures is classified as slander under the Restatement rule. The classification turns on the form of communication rather than the content alone. Written or embodied forms with lasting qualities are treated as libel instead.
Supporting sources
A merely transitory or harmless confinement does not create liability unless the actor intended the confinement. The plaintiff must also be conscious of the restraint or suffer harm from it. Brief duration alone is not dispositive if intent is present.
Supporting sources
Tonya Takahashi was served with process while attending a one-day conference in California. The plaintiff sued on a contract claim that arose entirely in New York. The court upheld personal jurisdiction because the cause of action was transitory and followed the defendant into the forum where she was found.
Tristan Thompson, a resident of State A, was sued in State B on a debt incurred in State A. The court in State B entertained the transitory cause of action because the obligation created by the law of State A was enforceable wherever the defendant could be found.
True North Logistics challenged the admissibility of an identification made after its employee was placed in a lineup without counsel. The court rejected the argument that fleeting, transitory notions of fairness could override the Sixth Amendment right to counsel at that critical stage.
Torchlight Media argued that a newly elected school board could reverse a prior compulsory flag-salute policy. The court explained that the board's authority derived from the continuous legislative body rather than from the transitory individuals who happened to hold office at any given moment.
A transitory cause of action may be brought in any forum where the defendant is found and properly served. This principle allows suit on personal claims even when the underlying events occurred elsewhere. It contrasts with local actions tied to specific property.
Supporting sources
The statute provides that venue is determined without regard to whether the action is local or transitory. This eliminates any distinction based on the nature of the claim for venue purposes. Proper venue is instead based on residence, events, or property location.
Supporting sources
…198 U. S. 215 (1905), that the interest of a creditor in a debt could be extinguished or otherwise affected by any State having transitory jurisdiction over the debtor. Shaffer v. Heitner , 433 U. S. 186 (1977). Having interred the mechanical rule that a creditor's amenability to a quasi in rem action travels with his…