Trespass

Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land.

Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem (or maiming), and false imprisonment.[1] Through the evolution of the common law in various jurisdictions, and the codification of common law torts, most jurisdictions now broadly recognize three trespasses to the person: assault, which is "any act of such a nature as to excite an apprehension of battery";[2] battery, "any intentional and unpermitted contact with the plaintiff's person or anything attached to it and practically identified with it";[2] and false imprisonment, the "unlawful obstruction or deprivation of freedom from restraint of movement".[3]

Trespass to chattel does not require a showing of damages. Simply the "intermeddling with or use of … the personal property" of another gives cause of action for trespass.[4][5] Since CompuServe Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc.,[6] various courts have applied the principles of trespass to chattel to resolve cases involving unsolicited bulk e-mail and unauthorized server usage.[7][8][9][10]

Trespass to land is today the tort most commonly associated with the term trespass; it takes the form of "wrongful interference with one's possessory rights in [real] property".[11][12] Generally, it is not necessary to prove harm to a possessor's legally protected interest; liability for unintentional trespass varies by jurisdiction. "At common law, every unauthorized entry upon the soil of another was a trespasser"; however, under the tort scheme established by the Restatement of Torts, liability for unintentional intrusions arises only under circumstances evincing negligence or where the intrusion involved a highly dangerous activity.[13]

Trespass has also been treated as a common law offense in some countries.

  1. ^ Underhill and Pease, p. 250
  2. ^ a b Johnson v. Glick, 481 F.2d 1028, 1033 (2nd Cir. 1973)
  3. ^ Broughton v. New York, 37 N.Y.2d 451, 456–7
  4. ^ Thrifty-Tel, at 1567
  5. ^ Restatement (Second) of Torts § 217(b)
  6. ^ 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S.D.Ohio 1997)
  7. ^ America Online, Inc., v. LCGM, Inc., 46 F. Supp.2d 444 (E.D.Vir. 1998)
  8. ^ America Online, Inc. v. IMS, 24 F. Supp.2d 548 (E.D.Vir. 1998)
  9. ^ eBay, Inc., v. Bidder's Edge, Inc., 100 F. Supp.2d 1058 (N.D.Cal. 2000)
  10. ^ Register.com, Inc., v. Verio, Inc., 126 F. Supp.2d 238 (S.D.N.Y. 2000)
  11. ^ Robert's River Rides v. Steamboat Dev., 520 N.W.2d 294, 301 (Iowa 1994)
  12. ^ Sacharoff, Laurent (Jan 2016). "Trespass and Deception". Brigham Young University Law Review. 2015: 359–412.
  13. ^ Loe et ux. v. Lenhard et al., 362 P.2d 312 (Or. 1961)

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