The conclusion of WandaVision had the revelation that the citizens of Westview had been subject to Wanda’s control, including everything from child neglect to shared nightmares for everyone in the town. It was refreshing to see the town not revert to burning Wanda at the stake, but everyone in the town should seek legal representation; there is a mass tort to be litigated.
The causes of action against Wanda Maximoff could include:
False Imprisonment
Assault
Loss of Consortium
Torture
Child Endangerment
Child Neglect
This a good start before amending a complaint for additional causes of action.
False Imprisonment
The crime of False Imprisonment is when “A person commits a disorderly persons offense if he knowingly restrains another unlawfully so as to interfere substantially with his liberty.” N.J. Stat. § 2C:13-3. The tort of False Imprisonment is “the constraint of the person without legal justification.” Leang v. Jersey City Board of Education, 198 N.J. 557, 591 (N.J. 2009), citing Mesgleski v. Oraboni, 330 N.J.Super. 10, 24, 748 A.2d 1130 (App.Div. 2000). The tort of false imprisonment has two elements: (1) “an arrest or detention of the person against his or her will” and (2) “lack of proper legal authority or legal justification.” Id.
The citizens of Westview could show there was a magical energy field (hereinafter “The Hex”) that encompassed the entire town. The Hex prohibited anyone from leaving the town. Furthermore, Wanda had no legal justification for creating The Hex that prohibited anyone from leaving or entering The Hex. As such, a claim of False Imprisonment would survive a motion to dismiss and summary judgment. The citizens of Westview would have a high likelihood of success on their claim.
Assault
There is not a direct common law or statutory tort for magical mind control. However, traditional application of common law assault could provide legal relief for Wanda’s victims:
A person is subject to liability for the common law tort of assault if: “(a) he acts intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the person of the other or a third person, or an imminent apprehension of such a contact, and (b) the other is thereby put in such imminent apprehension.
Wigginton v. Servidio, 324 N.J.Super. 114, 129, 734 A.2d 798 (App.Div. 1999) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 21 (1965)). The tort of battery rests upon a nonconsensual touching. Perna v. Pirozzi, 92 N.J. 446, 461, 457 A.2d 431 (1983).
Wanda’s Hex on the citizens of Westview forced them to think they were different people with very different lives. Moreover, the “storyline” changed daily, jumping between different eras. Wanda’s magical “touch” was the cause of this changing environment that turned the people of Westview into her personal meat puppets. This might be enough for liability. If it is not, the people of Westview were in imminent apprehension of being under Wanda’s control once they had been released from The Hex. Those facts should be sufficient to show liability.
Loss of Consortium
There were citizens of Westview who were separated from their spouses outside of The Hex. Those spouses could have a claim for loss of consortium, which is a claim to compensate a person who has lost a spouse’s “society, companionship and services due to the fault of another.” Kibble v. Weeks Dredging Construction Co., 161 N.J. 178, 190 (N.J. 1999), citing Wolfe v. State Farm Ins. Co., 224 N.J. Super. 348, 350 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 111 N.J. 654 (1988). This claim is both derivative and independent of the other claims in the case, because the damages of the affected spouse “may be awarded to the spouse suffering the direct injury.” Kibble at *190, citing Hauck v. Danclar, 262 N.J. Super. 225, 227 (Law Div. 1993).
Torture
Citizens of Westview complained of the emotional assault from being controlled by Wanda. Unfortunately, New Jersey does not allow for a cause of action for torture. These claims would need to be brought under the assault claim.
Think of the Children
The children of Westview were not present on the streets, schools, or playgrounds until “Halloween.” In the final episode, a distraught mother complained her daughter had been kept in her room. Moreover, the mother begged Wanda to be able to hold her child again.
Wanda’s actions raise serious issues of child neglect and abuse. New Jersey law states the following are crimes against children:
Abuse of a child shall consist in any of the following acts: (a) disposing of the custody of a child contrary to law; … or (h) in an institution as defined in section 1 of P.L. 1974, c.119 (C. 9:6-8.21 ), willfully isolating the child from ordinary social contact under circumstances which indicate emotional or social deprivation.
Abandonment of a child shall consist in any of the following acts by anyone having the custody or control of the child: (a) willfully forsaking a child; (b) failing to care for and keep the control and custody of a child so that the child shall be exposed to physical or moral risk without proper and sufficient protection; (c) failing to care for and keep the control and custody of a child so that the child shall be liable to be supported and maintained at the expense of the public, or by child caring societies or private persons not legally chargeable with its or their care, custody and control.
Cruelty to a child shall consist in any of the following acts: …. (b) inflicting upon a child unnecessary suffering or pain, either mental or physical; … (e) or exposing a child to unnecessary hardship, fatigue or mental or physical strains that may tend to injure the health or physical or moral well-being of such child.
Neglect of a child shall consist in any of the following acts, by anyone having the custody or control of the child: (a) willfully failing to provide proper and sufficient food, clothing, maintenance, regular school education as required by law, medical attendance or surgical treatment, and a clean and proper home, or (b) failure to do or permit to be done any act necessary for the child’s physical or moral well-being. Neglect also means the continued inappropriate placement of a child in an institution, as defined in section 1 of P.L. 1974, c.119 (C. 9:6-8.21 ), with the knowledge that the placement has resulted and may continue to result in harm to the child’s mental or physical well-being.
N.J. Stat. § 9:6-1
Wanda’s Hex forcing parents to not care for their children could meet the requirement of abuse for willfully isolating children from ordinary social contact; willfully forsaking their children; causing the child unnecessary suffering or pain; and failing to provide everything from food to a regular school education.
Is Wanda Judgment Proof?
There is substantial evidence against Wanda for her civil wrongs committed upon the people of Westview. Unfortunately, Wanda’s property is limited to an undeveloped lot and possibly a car. That is insufficient to fund a meaningful settlement for Wanda’s victims. However, there might be creative settlement options if Wanda transmutes her undeveloped land to gold or other precious gems. This could be means of compensating Wanda’s victims for inflecting her personal trauma on an entire town.
