PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN
UNIT 4 SECTION
DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING 2 TRESPASS TO LAND
Trespass to land is the direct interference with a person’s possession of land
without lawful authority. This applies not only to the bare ground but also to
that is permanently attached to its surface such as a house. A tort of trespass
to land is committed if the defendant intended or negligently enters or
remains on, or directly has contact with another person’s land without his
permission. The interference with someone’s land must be direct to
constitute a trespass to land. It must be either by entering the land without
lawful authority or remaining on the land after permission has been
withdrawn or placing objects on the land. A common form of trespass is the
dumping of rubbish or parking vehicles on someone’s land without
permission. In League Against Cruel Sports v Scott (1986), the plaintiff
owned a land on Exmoor which they maintained as a deer sanitary. The
hounds from the local hunt repeatedly got on to the plaintiff’s land and
disturbed the deer. The court held that the Master of Hounds was liable for
trespass if he deliberately encouraged the dogs to enter the land or if he
negligently failed to prevent them from entering the land. In Kelsen v
Imperial Tobacco Co. (1957), the defendant erected an advertising sign post
which projected into the plaintiff’s air space only by 8 inches.
The court held that the defendant was liable for trespass.
At the end of this section, student should be able to
Identify the element of negligence
Remedies for trespass to land
Remedies for trespass are by way of damages (compensation). The court
will award such amount of money that will put the plaintiff in the position
he would have been in if the trespass had not been committed. This will
include cost of repairs and loss of profits. The plaintiff may be awarded
nominal damages if he has suffered no loss. If the defendant does not stop
the act constituting the trespass the court may order an injunction restraining
the trespass from continuing with the act of trespass; failure to obey the
court order of which will constitute a criminal offence (contempt of court).
A plaintiff may also bring an action of ejection or recovery of possession to
dispose the trespasser from the land.
Defenses to trespass to land
Justification by law:
In some instances clear act of trespass is prevented from being so by
the existence of some justification provided by law
A licence is a consent which merely prevents an act for which consent
is given from being wrongful. A person is not a trespasser if he is on
the land with the permission of the possessor. Licence does not carry
with any interest and therefore can be revoked at any time. Once it is
revoked, the licence becomes a trespasser.
162 UEW/IEDE
Unit 4, section 2: Trespass to land BUSINESS LAW
Jus tertii:
This rule states that a person claiming land from another who is in
possession of it can succeed only by showing title than the person in
possession. If the land belongs to either of them but to a third party,
the person in possession can plead the defense of Jus tertii.
Summary
the three elements that constitute negligence are
Duty of Care –
Breach of Duty
Damage
UEW/IEDE 163
