What is trespass to property in civil actions?

This is the unauthorized, intentional or negligent interference or handling of a property belonging to another, most often with the malicious intention to damage it.

Trespass to property can occur in a number of ways. This includes by taking the property away from the victim, e.g., as in seizure of the property by the defendant without lawful justification, or merely by taking it away from where you put it and taking it to another place even without the intention of dispossessing you of it. For instance, if I park my car in a premises, and Mr. John comes and removes my car to another place without any lawful justification, it amounts to trespass. It does not even matter that my car was not damaged in the course of the removal.

Trespass can occur through contact with the property by a human body or by another property which causes damage. For instance, if I intentionally hit your chair or table with my car without lawful cause and damage it in the process, I have trespassed against your property with my own property. If I sit on your chair and intentionally cause it to damage, I have trespassed against your property. But note that your property does not have to have been damaged before you can make your claim. The mere fact that I touched your property with my body or my property makes me liable for trespass to your property.

Trespass to property can also occur merely by touching a property which could be affected by such a touch. If, for example, Mr. A touches an artwork belonging to Mr. B and such artwork is damaged by that touch, it becomes trespass. If I intentionally touch a wall which you have just painted and thereby caused damage to it, I have trespassed against your property.

Please note as I stated before that trespass to property would occur even if there were no damage to such property. Just like in false imprisonment and some other civil wrongs, the victim does not have to prove any physical damage to his property before he can claim for trespass. Of course, the fact that the property was damaged would only increase the amount of damages the victim is entitled to. So, in the first example above, I can sue for damages for removing my car where I parked it even if there was no physical damage to my car. In the same vein, I can sue you for touching my artwork without lawful justification, even if there was no damage to it.

In order to sustain the claim for trespass to property, the victim must, however, be able to show that the trespass was the direct act of the defendant. For instance, if Mr. A cuts trees on the farm or land belonging to Mr. B, there is trespass. If John beats a dog or cat belonging to Jane without lawful cause, it becomes trespass to Jane’s property. It does not matter that Mr. A cut the trees believing that it was his own farm, or that John beat Jane’s pet under the mistaken belief that it was his own.