Trespass to Chattels

This lesson is an exploration of the law of torts enabling a person to obtain compensation for wrongful interference with personal property. The exploration uses the concepts of interests, invasion, conduct and remedy as the vehicles for developing understanding of the cause of action and its operation. Each section of the lesson will focus on one of these components, present the theory, and then give the student an opportunity to apply the theory or explore some of its ramifications.

The lesson is designed to be comprehensive enough to be assigned without supporting textual assignments or classroom attention to the subject. Although this lesson and the companion lesson on conversion are free-standing, the student may find that completing this lesson first will produce best results.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Discuss the law of torts that enables a person to obtain compensation for wrongful interference with personal property.
2. Analyze the concepts of interests, invasion, conduct and remedy.
3. Apply the theory of trespass to chattels to various situations.