False Imprisonment

Category: legal

The intentional confinement of another person without legal authority and against their will.

This doesn’t need to be a prison. It can be locking someone in a room, blocking a door, or even preventing them from leaving an office. The victim must be aware of the confinement or suffer harm from it, and they must have no reasonable means of escape.

Common Examples

• The manager’s refusal to let the employee leave the office during the investigation until they "confessed" constituted false imprisonment.
• Retailers can face false imprisonment claims if they detain a shoplifting suspect without a reasonable basis or proper legal authority.