Trespass
Trespass law governs unlawful interference with person, property, or land.
Trespass is a category within tort law, split into three main types: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Historically, trespass to the person encompassed six distinct actions: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem (or maiming), and false imprisonment. Through the evolution of common law and its codification in various jurisdictions, most legal systems now broadly recognize three specific forms of trespass to the person: assault, battery, and false imprisonment. Assault is defined as any act that excites an apprehension of battery; battery is any intentional and unpermitted contact with the plaintiff’s person or anything attached to and practically identified with it; false imprisonment concerns the restraint of a person’s freedom of movement. Whether intent is a necessary element of trespass to the person varies by jurisdiction. Under English precedent, intent is required; in its absence, negligence is the appropriate claim. In other jurisdictions, gross negligence may suffice, such as when a defendant negligently operates a vehicle and strikes the plaintiff with great force. Trespass to chattel does not require a showing of damages; mere intermeddling with or use of another’s personal property gives cause for action. Following the case *CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc.*, courts have applied trespass to chattel principles to unsolicited bulk e-mail and unauthorized server usage. Trespass to land, the tort most commonly associated with the term today, involves wrongful interference with one’s possessory rights in real property. Generally, proving harm is not necessary; liability for unintentional trespass varies by jurisdiction. Under the common law, every unauthorized entry upon another’s soil was a trespass, but under the Restatement of Torts, liability for unintentional intrusions arises only when negligence or a highly dangerous activity is involved. In criminal law, trespass is often an element of offenses such as burglary, and it has also been treated as a common law offense in some countries.
- field
- Tort law
- known_for
- Three categories: trespass to person, chattels, and land
- subcategories
- Assault, battery, false imprisonment
Lore & Background
Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and false imprisonment. Through the evolution of the common law, most jurisdictions now broadly recognize three trespasses to the person: assault, which is any act exciting an apprehension of battery; battery, any intentional and unpermitted contact with the plaintiff's person; and false imprisonment, the unlawful obstruction or deprivation of freedom from restraint of movement. Whether intent is a necessary element of trespass to the person varies by jurisdiction; under English decision Letang v Cooper, intent is required, while in other jurisdictions gross negligence suffices.
Reader's Guide
Trespass to chattel does not require a showing of damages; simply intermeddling with or use of another's personal property gives cause of action. Since CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc., courts have applied trespass to chattel principles to unsolicited bulk e-mail and unauthorized server usage. Trespass to land generally does not require proof of harm; liability for unintentional intrusions varies by jurisdiction. Under the Restatement of Torts, liability for unintentional intrusions arises only under circumstances evincing negligence or involving highly dangerous activity. Trespass has also been treated as a common law offense in some countries. Defenses include child correction, where corporal punishment by parents or instructors may be a defense if reasonably necessary, and consent, where participation in a sporting activity with ordinary physical contact implies consent.
Did You Know?
- Trespass to the person historically included six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and false imprisonment.
- Trespass to chattel does not require a showing of damages; intermeddling with personal property gives cause of action.
- In some jurisdictions, false imprisonment is a tort of strict liability requiring no intention on the defendant's behalf.
- Consent is a common defense; participation in a sport like rugby implies consent to ordinary physical contact.
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