In the sixth paragraph of this opinion the court provides a "simple" definition of the tort of "battery." Specifically, the court states that: "a battery is the intentional infliction of a harmful bodily contact upon another."
In this Course you will see many other "definitions" for the tort of "battery," some of which may even differ slightly from the wording that is used here in the Garratt opinion. However, for purposes of writing your brief of the Garratt case, and in order to fully understand the legal analysis that is used IN THIS CASE by the Garratt court in this particular judicial opinion, you must at least begin with this definition of the tort of "battery." Of course, as you continue to read through the Garratt case, it is possible that the court may (or may not) subsequently modify this initial definition either by directly changing it, even if only just slightly, or by interpreting some portion of the original language used in this definition so as to expand (or perhaps restrict) the meaning of some of that language.