33.2 Intentional Torts Against Property

33.2 Intentional Torts Against Property

The intentional torts that protect property differ mainly in the kind of property involved and the harm required. Trespass to land requires no harm, trespass to chattels requires actual harm, and conversion requires interference serious enough to justify making the defendant pay the chattel's full value.

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Intentional Torts Against Property

1. Trespass to Land

Trespass to Land protects an owner's or possessor's right to exclusive physical possession of real property.

• Prima Facie Elements:

  1. An intentional physical invasion;
  2. Of the real property of another.

• Physical Invasion: The defendant personally enters the land, causes a third party or physical object to enter the land (throwing rocks onto the lawn, chasing cattle across the boundary), remains on the land after the license or lease has expired, or fails to remove an object they are legally obligated to remove.

  • Intangible Invasions: Invasions by light, noise, odor, or vibrations generally are not trespasses to land; they are actionable, if at all, as nuisances (see Section 38.1). Some courts, however, treat invisible particles that settle on land, such as fluoride compounds from a factory, as a trespass (Martin v. Reynolds Metals Co., Or. 1959).

• Intent Required: The defendant needs only the intent to enter or cause physical entry onto that specific physical space. The defendant does not need to intend to violate a boundary line. A good-faith belief that the defendant owns the land or has permission to enter is wholly irrelevant.

• Spatial Dimension: Possession of land extends upward into the immediate superadjacent airspace (to the extent the possessor can make practical use of it) and downward into the subsurface beneath the property.

• Damages: Actual physical injury to the land is not required. The violation of exclusive possession establishes the tort, entitling the possessor to nominal damages even if the invasion improved the property. A trespasser who deliberately ignores the owner's objections may also be liable for punitive damages even when only nominal damages are awarded (Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc., Wis. 1997).

2. Trespass to Chattels

Trespass to Chattels protects the possessor of personal property against intentional interference, unauthorized meddling, or intermeddling.

• Prima Facie Elements:

  1. An intentional act by the defendant;
  2. Intermeddling with, damaging, or dispossessing the plaintiff of their chattel;
  3. Causing actual damages.

• Requirement of Actual Damage: Unlike trespass to land, nominal damages are not recoverable for mere harmless touching of personal property. For example, emails sent to a company's employees that did not damage or impair its computer system were not a trespass to chattels (Intel Corp. v. Hamidi, Cal. 2003). The plaintiff must demonstrate:

  • Physical damage or impairment of the chattel's condition, quality, or value;
  • Deprivation of the use of the chattel for a substantial period of time; OR
  • Bodily harm to the possessor or a legally protected interest.

• Measure of Recovery: The remedy is compensatory damages measured by the cost of repair or the rental value of the chattel during the period of dispossession.

3. Conversion

Conversion represents an intentional exercise of dominion or control over a chattel that so seriously interferes with the owner's right of control that the defendant may justly be required to pay the full value of the chattel.

• Prima Facie Elements:

  1. An intentional act by the defendant;
  2. Exercising dominion or control over a chattel of another;
  3. Constituting a substantial and serious interference with the possessory rights of the owner.

• Factors Distinguishing Conversion from Trespass to Chattels (Restatement § 222A):

  1. The extent and duration of the defendant's control;
  2. The defendant's intent to assert a right inconsistent with the owner's right of control;
  3. The defendant's good or bad faith;
  4. The extent and duration of the resulting interference with the owner's right of control;
  5. The degree of physical harm done to the chattel; and
  6. The inconvenience and expense caused to the owner.

• Remedy — The Forced Sale: The signature remedy for conversion is a forced judicial sale. The plaintiff is entitled to recover the full fair market value (FMV) of the chattel calculated at the time and place of the conversion, plus interest. Alternatively, the plaintiff may elect to seek replevin (return of the chattel) plus damages for loss of possession.

┌────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Trespass to Chattels           │               Conversion               │
├────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Minor interference or meddling         │ Total destruction or major dominion    │
│ Temporary deprivation of possession    │ Substantial, permanent, or major theft │
│ Actual damage to chattel required      │ Complete denial of ownership rights    │
│ Remedy: Cost of repair or lost use     │ Remedy: Full FMV (Forced Sale)         │
└────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Intentional Torts: Protected Interests, Intent Types, and Harm Requirements

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More on Property Torts

Trespass to Land in More Detail

• Who may sue: The person in possession, including a tenant, may sue for trespass. An owner out of possession, such as a landlord, may sue only for harm to its future interest.
• Exceeding permission: Entering parts of the property not covered by an invitation, or staying after permission is revoked or a lease ends, is a trespass.
• Continuing trespass: Failing to remove a structure or object that the defendant placed on the land is a continuing trespass.
• Unintentional entries: A person who enters another's land negligently or recklessly, rather than intentionally, is liable only if the entry causes actual harm; an entry caused by an abnormally dangerous activity may bring strict liability.
• Airspace: Aircraft flights generally are not trespasses unless they enter the immediate reaches of the land and substantially interfere with its use (see Section 29.4).
• Remedies: Damages may be measured by the reduction in the land's value or the reasonable cost of restoration, plus the value of the defendant's use; a court may also order an injunction against a continuing trespass.

Conversion in More Detail

• Common forms: Conversion can occur through wrongful acquisition (theft or fraud), wrongful transfer (selling another's goods), wrongful detention (refusing to return goods after a demand), serious damage or misuse (using a borrowed item far beyond permission), or a bailee's delivery of goods to the wrong person.
• Good-faith purchasers: A buyer from a thief acquires no title and can be liable for conversion even if the buyer acted in good faith. By contrast, under UCC § 2-403, a person with voidable title, such as a buyer who paid with a bad check, can transfer good title to a good-faith purchaser for value, and a merchant who is entrusted with goods of the kind it sells can transfer the owner's rights to a buyer in the ordinary course of business.
• Intent: The defendant need only intend to exercise control over the chattel. A mistaken belief that the chattel belongs to the defendant is no defense.
• Property that can be converted: Conversion traditionally covers tangible chattels and rights embodied in documents, such as checks and stock certificates. Courts are divided about intangible property; for example, one federal court allowed a conversion claim for a stolen internet domain name (Kremen v. Cohen, 9th Cir. 2003).
• Remedies: The plaintiff may recover the chattel's market value at the time of conversion plus interest, or may seek return of the chattel through replevin along with damages for loss of use. If the plaintiff accepts return of the chattel, damages are reduced.