Torts - Trespass to Land and Chattels

TRESPASS TO CHATTELS: DAMAGES

- Actual damages. - Diminished value of chattel bc of damage to it or for damage to π's interest in its use or possession.

CONVERSION: DOMINION & CONTROL

- An act which shows the ∆ is treating the chattel as his own OR controls access to the chattel. - Intent to exercise & must exercise substantial dominion & control.

Trespass to Land

(1) Intentional (intent to cause a tangable mass to enter the land) (2) Unlawful, (3) Physical invasion of real property, (4) As to which the plaintiff is the rightful owner or is otherwise the person with rightful exclusive possession and control over the property (such as a lessee).

CONVERSION: NOT A TRESPASSORY TORT

- Conversion is not a trespassory tort, so no transferred intent. - The intent to commit any of the 5 trespassory torts will not transfer to satisfy the requisite intent needed for conversion.

TRESPASS TO CHATTELS: (little brother of conversion)

- Intermeddling w/chattel of another person, perhaps even dispossession, but something short of conversion. Liable if: - Possessor suffers dispossession or loss of use OR - Chattel or possessor harmed

CONVERSION: NOTES

- Only applies to personal property, not real property. - Applies to use, possession. - Applies to treating chattel as his own by buying it, selling it, using, etc.

CONVERSION: INTENT

- To exercise dominion & control over another person's property. - Mistake is no defense. - Does not have to be evil.

Elements of Trespass to Land

1. Act 2. Act causes tangible mass to enter the land 3. The possesor has the right to the land and holds the title

CONVERSION: DAMAGES

General rule: FMV of the chattel at the time of conversion. - Replevin: Return of chattel - Unmarketable items: Value = FMV of new item + depreciation - Emotional distress damages are rare. - Usually no damages for sentimental value.

CONVERSION & TRESPASS TO CHATTELS: NOTES

In a case where the ∆ intentionally destroys the chattel, the remedy will be the same whether the π brings his action in trespass to chattels or in conversion (FMV). Where the chattel is NOT totally destroyed, however, the remedy under a trespass theory will only be the damage caused to the chattel (diminution in value). In this circumstance, the π might prefer to proceed in conversion if he is able to establish that the ∆ has exercised the requisite dominion & control over the π's property Similarly, to take a case of unauthorized use of a chattel, conversion will lie, and the ∆ will in effect be forced to purchase the chattel, if the unauthorized use is a serious violation of the right of another to control its use. Control that is accompanied by an unauthorized, intentional refusal to return the chattel to its owner, will sometimes constitute a conversion even where the other's possession lasts only a short period of time.

Unlawful Invasion

In order for the defendant's physical invasion of the plaintiff's land to be "unlawful," it must be done either: (1) Without the plaintiff's effective consent or (2) Without some other, overriding legal privilege to be there The defendant's presence on the plaintiff's property might be lawful initially, but the defendant can morph into a trespasser if he remains on the property after the plaintiff's consent or his lawful privilege expires. The defendant might also be invited onto a certain part of the property, but then wander off into a different area of the property where he has no privilege or permission to be, and thus become a trespasser.

RESTATEMENT §222A

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 222A: (2) In determining the seriousness of the interference and the justice of requiring the actor to pay the full value, the following factors are important: (a) The extent and duration of the actor's exercise of dominion or control; (b) The actor's intent to assert a right in fact inconsistent with the other's right of control; (c) The actor's good faith; (d) The extent and duration of the resulting interference with the other's right of control; (e) The harm done to the chattel; (f) The inconvenience & expense caused to the other.

Conversion of Chattels

Restatement (Second) of Torts, Section 222A, defines "conversion of chattels" as "an intentional exercise of dominion or control over a chattel which so seriously interferes with the right of another to control it that the actor may justly be required to pay the other the full value of the chattel."

Intent

The defendant can have the requisite intent even if he has every reason to believe that his physical invasion of the plaintiff's property is perfectly legal. The intent that matters is not the intent to invade someone else's property unlawfully so much as to perform some act that happens to result in such invasion. The only intent is for the person to mean to enter the land, not to trespass 1. If person a causes another (b) to enter the land, a is guilty of trespass. Duress can be a defense for trespass for person a. Defense of necessity - to save a life vii. Mistake is not a defense. If someone enters the land upon one person's consent but that person does not own the land, whoever enters the land has trespassed. But the person inducing the other to enter the land is also guilty of trespass.

Physical Invasion

The defendant physically enters the plaintiff's real property. The defendant can also "physically invade" the plaintiff's property by causing a physical object other than the defendant's own body to come onto the property, such as by throwing a ball onto the property. Odors and noises are not "trespasses," but rather are treated under nuisance law, which is covered under the rubric of property law.

BIGGEST DISTINCTION BW TRESPASS TO CHATTELS & CONVERSION:

The measure of damages. Damages: - Trespass to Chattels: Diminished value of chattel bc of damage to it or for damage to π's interest in its use or possession. - Conversion: Full value of chattel at time & place of tort.

CONVERSION

Unauthorized & wrongful exercise of dominion & control over another's personal property to exclusion of or inconsistent w/rights of owner. - Can be use, possession, destruction, wrongful dispossession.

CONVERSION: QUESTION

Whether the interference was so substantial that we will require ∆ to buy it at a forced sale.