Trespass to Land

Question 1

Public Policy for TPL

Answer 1

this tort protects prescriptive rights—after a certain amount of time of doing something on someone’s property, the trespasser’s presence on the land becomes legal. This tort also protects the capital that is associated with that land, and protects the presumption that one will make good use of the land.

Question 1

Trespass to Land definition

Answer 1

Defendant is liable for trespass to land when the defendant voluntary acts with the intent to enter the land of another without consent or privilege.

(Trespass to land may occur above, on, or below the land; however, land usage is restricted to usable air above and usable land below. Herrin v. Sutherland)

Question 2

Elements of TPL

Answer 2

Voluntary: without outside influence; of one’s own free will

Acts: external manifestation of the actors will

Intent: 3 types
specific: acting with purpose or desire to produce the consequences
General: setting in motion a chain of events knowing with substantial certainty the outcome is likely to occur
transferred: intending to commit a tort against one person, but accidentally committing it against another

Entering land: can be done through an agent, can trespass on, above, or below land (within reason)

without consent

without privilege

trespass to land requires actual damage being done to that land

Question 3

TPL Sub Rules

Answer 3

• Trespass to land can be committed by:

o Going on someone’s land when you shouldn’t
o Overstaying permission
o Going onto land beyond purpose
o Going beyond scope of permission
- Continuing trespass (Rogers v. Board of Road Commissioners):
o This is an ongoing violation of another’s rights
o Everyday you are trespassing constitutes a separate cause of action

• Defendant is liable for trespass to land if he causes a third party to enter the land on his behalf
• If you are pushed onto someone’s land by someone else, your act is not voluntary and you have no intent and you are not liable for trespass to land
• You are not liable for trespass to land if you have entered the land in good faith
• You are liable for trespass to land if you negligently trespassed
• Trespass occurs even if one enters the land with the honest and reasonable belief that he has the right to be on that land (Ranson v. Kitner)
• Smoke, odor, light, and noise are not actionable under trespass to land
• Ejectment: “throwing off”
• Quiet title:
  o Plaintiff is in possession of the land
  o Defendant claims ownership of that land
  o The court will rest title to the true owner of the land
• License:
  o Permission to do something you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do
   Without license, entry into the land would be unlawful
• Trespass applies even if you thought you were entering someone else’s property with authorization but accidentally entered someone’s property that you didn’t intend to enter
• Benchmark for trespass to land is whether you intended to step foot on the property you see before you.

o Intention to harm is unnecessary. As long as you enter someone’s property on purpose without authorization, it’s trespass to land

• Intangible intrusions, such as noise, or radiation, are only trespass if plaintiff is able to prove physical damage was caused to the property, and they are able to meet the intent requirement
• If tangible, you don’t need to physical damages

Question 4

Damages for TPL

Answer 4

• Punitive damages will be awarded in actions where the defendant knew not to enter the land and still did
• If you enter land without causing harm to it, plaintiff will be awarded nominal damages

o Invasion of property rights

• In trespass actions, plaintiff will be awarded nominal damages, even if there are no compensatory damages

o This is because trespass is either a suit intended to try title or is directed vindication of legal right if a defendant repeatedly trespasses