Trespass to land and goods; conversion and detinue
LUG-101 Law of Torts including Motor Vehicle Accident and Consumer Protection Act, Unit III: Trespass to person and property. · LLB · 60 min
Trespass is the oldest group of torts: a direct interference with the person, land or goods of another, actionable without proof of damage. After placing trespass to the person (covered in the lectures on assault, battery and false imprisonment), this lecture deals with trespass to land (entry, remaining, placing things; possession as the basis of the action; airspace and subsoil with Kelsen v. Imperial Tobacco; mistake no defence, Basely v. Clarkson; trespass ab initio, the Six Carpenters' Case; Entick v. Carrington), its remedies (re-entry, damages, mesne profits, injunction, the Specific Relief Act 1963) and defences; then trespass to goods, conversion (Salmond's definition, the acts of conversion, Hollins v. Fowler) and detinue, with a comparison table. It answers 2017-18 Q A7 ("What is trespass?") and Q A12 ("Define conversion").
Objectives
- Define trespass and explain its three forms and the rule that it is actionable per se.
- State what amounts to trespass to land, who may sue, and how far ownership extends above and below the surface.
- Explain the doctrine of trespass ab initio and its limits with the Six Carpenters' Case.
- Explain the remedies and defences for trespass to land, including the Specific Relief Act 1963.
- Define trespass to goods, conversion and detinue, list the acts of conversion, and distinguish the three.
Slides
- Trespass: meaning and forms
- Trespass to land: what it covers
- Possession: who may sue
- Airspace and subsoil: Kelsen v. Imperial Tobacco (1957)
- Trespass ab initio: the Six Carpenters' Case (1610)
- Entick v. Carrington (1765): trespass and the rule of law
- Remedies and defences: trespass to land
- Trespass to goods
- Conversion: definition, acts and Hollins v. Fowler
- Detinue; trespass, conversion and detinue compared
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