Intentional torts: personal property and land Flashcards
Conversion
Conversion is the intentional commission of an act:
(1) Depriving the plaintiff of possession of her chattel; or
(2) Interfering with the plaintiff’s chattel in a manner so serious as to deprive the plaintiff of the use of the chattel.
Conversion: damages
The plaintiff’s damages are the chattel’s full value at the time of the conversion.
Consequential damages are not permitted.
Conversion: defense of permission
If the defendant has permission to use the chattel, accidental damage is not conversion.
But the plaintiff may be able to sustain a conversion claim, notwithstanding that she granted permission, if:
(1) Use exceeds the scope of the permission; and
(2) use causes significant damage of the extent that deprives the plaintiff of possession in a serious manner.
Trespass to chattels
Trespass to chattels is an intentional interference with the plaintiff’s right to possess personal property by:
(1) Dispossessing the plaintiff of the chattel;
(2) Using or intermeddling with the plaintiff’s chattel; or
(3) Damaging the chattel.
Trespass to chattels: damages
The plaintiff’s damages are the cost of restoring the chattel to its original condition.
Trespass to chattels and conversion
In determining whether a trespass to chattels rises to the level of conversion, courts consider several factors:
(1) The duration and the extent of the interference;
(2) The defendant’s intent:
(a) Whether she intended to assert a right inconsistent with that of the rightful possessor; or
(b) Whether she acted in good faith;
(3) The expense or inconvenience to the plaintiff; and
(4) The extent of the harm.
Defense of property
It is appropriate to use reasonable force to prevent tortious harm to property if the person defending reasonably believes it is necessary.
Deadly force may never be used.
Recapture of chattels
If the original taking was unlawful, the owner may use reasonable force to reclaim the wrongfully taken property—but only if the owner first requests its return, unless doing so would be futile.
By contrast, if the original taking was lawful—e.g., as a bailment—then the owner can only use peaceful means.
Repossession of land
At common law, reasonable force was permitted, but the modern rule only allows legal process.
Trespass
Trespass to land is:
(1) Intent to either:
(a) Enter the land; or
(b) Cause physical invasion.
(2) Physically invading the land, including by causing objects to invade the land.
Trespass: standing to sue
Anyone in possession can sue for trespass, even if the plaintiff is not the owner.
The plaintiff need not prove actual damages
Trespass: mistake of fact
Mistake of fact is not a defense to trespass to land.
Trespass: private necessity
Private necessity is a partial or qualified privilege, i.e.—
(1) The defendant is not liable for nominal damages, but
(2) The defendant must pay for actual damages caused.
To claim private necessity, the defendant must prove that the intrusion was necessary to prevent an injury or other severe harm.
The landowner may not use force to exclude a defendant claiming private necessity.
Trespass: public necessity
Public necessity is a defense to an intrusion necessary to protect a large number of people from a public calamity.
Public necessity is an absolute privilege: The defendant is not liable for damages to the property.
Trespass: physical invasion
Physical invasion does not require the defendant to personally enter the plaintiff’s land.
For example, a defendant can be liable for trespass if she:
(1) Intentionally floods the plaintiff’s land;
(2) Throws rocks on the plaintiff’s land; or
(3) Intentionally emits particulates into the air over the land.
