Trespass - Common-law Form Of Action, Trespass To Land, Trespass By One Entitled To Possession
winter property tort
An unlawful intrusion that interferes with one's person or property.
TORT LAW originated in England with the action of trespass. Initially trespass was any wrongful conduct directly causing injury or loss; in modern law trespass is an unauthorized entry upon land. A trespass gives the aggrieved party the right to bring a civil lawsuit and collect damages as compensation for the interference and for any harm suffered. Trespass is an intentional tort and, in some circumstances, can be punished as a crime.
FURTHER READINGS
Epstein, Richard A. 2003. "Cybertrespass." University of Chicago Law Review 70 (winter).
Saba, John D., Jr. 2002. "Internet Property Rights: E-trespass." St. Mary's Law Journal 33 (winter).
Schoenberg, Tom. 2003. "Supreme Court Examines Trespassing Policy." Legal Times (May 1).
Additional Topics
Around the middle of the fourteenth century, the clerks of the king's courts began routinely giving out writs that permitted a plaintiff to begin a trespass action. Before that time criminal remedies for trespass were more common. The courts were primarily concerned with punishing the trespasser rather than compensating the landowner. From the beginning a defendant convicted of trespass was…
In modern law the word trespass is used most commonly to describe the intentional and wrongful invasion of another's real property. An action for trespass can be maintained by the owner or anyone else who has a lawful right to occupy the real property, such as the owner of an apartment building, a tenant, or a member of the tenant's family. The action can be maintained against anyone…
A hotel employee who enters a guest's room to perform housekeeping services is not a trespasser because it is customary to assume that guests want such services. If charged with trespass by the guest, the hotel would claim the guest consented to the employee's entry. A landlord does not have the right to enter a tenant's apartment whenever the landlord wants. However, the land…
These general rules have several exceptions, however. A property owner who knows that people frequently trespass at a particular place on his land must act affirmatively to keep them out or exercise care to prevent their injury. If the trespasser is a child, most states require an occupant of land to be more careful because a child cannot always be expected to understand and appreciate dangers. Th…
At common law a trespass was not criminal unless it was accomplished by violence or breached the peace. Some modern statutes make any unlawful entry onto another's property a crime. When the trespass involves violence or injury to a person or property, it is always considered criminal, and penalties may be increased for more serious or malicious acts. Criminal intent may have to be proved t…
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User Comments
about 3 years ago
One has a legal right to cut off the branches which hang over one`s property. When the tree is a poplar over 30m high and a trunk of 2m diameter, one has to enter the neighbour`s land to climb the tree to cut the branches even if such a tree is only 1m away from one`s fence. Does this constitute tresspass? Which is the applicable Law ?
3 months ago
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over 5 years ago
Does a walkway up to your front door constitute implied or customary consent?