What Is Trespass to Chattels
Trespass to chattels occurs when someone uses another person’s personal property without their permission. It is a distinction of the legal term trespass, which may also be applied to land or real property. Trespass to chattels is only applied to personal property. It could apply to someone using the pool in your backyard without permission or to them taking a parcel addressed to you from your front porch.
The Elements of Trespass to Chattels
In order to prove a trespass to chattels, the plaintiff must prove the following elements:
- Intent to trespass – Even if the defendant did not manage to take control or ownership of the chattels, or personal property, they can still be found guilty of trespass to chattels. The intention only needs to be to trespass, not to harm someone or deprive them of property.
- No consent or approval from the owner – The personal property must have been interfered with without the consent or approval of the owner.
- Interference – The interference can be any action from slight interference up to damaging the personal property or taking over possession of the item.
In order to prove trespass to chattels, the plaintiff must show that the defendant must know that the personal property belonged to someone else and used it or took it anyway. This shows that the trespass was intentional, not simply a mistake.
This can sometimes be hard to prove, but the circumstances and the actions of the defendant can be key in proving intention in trespass to chattels cases. For example, let’s say you are moving house and have removalists helping. While the removalists were on lunch, you decided to move some stuff to the sidewalk so they can load them straight into the van when they came back. In your neighborhood, it is common practice for people to leave things in front of their home for people to take if they want them. If someone comes past and takes your TV and dresser, then this may not prove sufficient intent for a trespass to chattels case.
If, on the other hand, your TV was in your front yard when the person took it. Then this may show enough intent for a trespass to chattels case. There could be no accident because it was on private property.
A trespass to chattels requires an intention to take someone’s property or use it. In this example, it is the TV. Even if the defendant took the TV so they could watch their favorite show and then returned it, it would still count as trespass to chattels.
What Is the Difference Between Conversion and Trespass to Chattels?
Conversion is slightly more serious than trespass to chattels; it is more about exercising control over the personal property. Trespass to chattels could be someone taking your lawnmower out of your shed and using it to mow their lawn and then returning it. Conversion would be taking the lawnmower and keeping it or taking the lawnmower and changing it to suit the defendant’s lawn and then returning it. In that sense, the difference between trespass to chattels and conversion is how much interference occurred.
In a trespass to chattels case, the plaintiff can only hold the defendant liable for tangible damages. Therefore, the plaintiff could charge the defendant who took their lawnmower for the petrol they used or any damage that may have occurred to the lawnmower blades. If there was any lowering of value due to the defendant’s actions, then the plaintiff could claim those as damages in a trespass to chattels lawsuit.
While the elements of a trespass to chattels claim do not require the plaintiff to have suffered damages, the plaintiff cannot claim financial compensation if there were no damages. However, the plaintiff may seek legal remedy in the form of an injunction to stop the defendant from continuing the trespass to chattels. For example, if the neighbor who took the TV took it every week to continue to watch their show, there may be no damage for the plaintiff to claim. But, the plaintiff could ask the court for an injunction to stop the defendant from continuing the trespass to chattels.