Battery is a legal term that refers to an unlawful application of force directly or indirectly upon another person or their personal belongings, causing bodily injury or offensive contact. It is an intentional tort, meaning that when a person intentionally causes harmful or offensive contact with another person, the act is battery. The contact may extend to anything connected to the plaintiff’s person, such as their clothing. Even if the plaintiff doesn’t suffer actual damages, they can claim nominal damages. Battery is typically classified as either simple or aggravated, and liability and sentencing for aggravated battery is typically harsher than that for battery).

The legal definition of battery differs from state to state, and in some states, it is grouped together with assault. Assault refers to the wrong act of causing someone to reasonably fear imminent harm, while battery refers to the actual wrong act of physically harming someone. In some jurisdictions, there is battery when the actor acts recklessly without specific intent of causing an offensive contact).

To defend battery, the defendant can prove that they obtained the plaintiff’s consent or that they acted for the defense of others or in self-defense, even if the defense is only reasonable belief and not fact.

In summary, battery is a legal term that refers to an unlawful application of force directly or indirectly upon another person or their personal belongings, causing bodily injury or offensive contact. It is an intentional tort, and the legal definition of battery differs from state to state.