Trespass to Chattels

What is a chattel?

Goods which are moveable

Two interferences with chattels

1. Wrongfully detaining it (the tort of detinue): when you wrongfully retain something which is in possession of another after he has requested it return.

   • Remedies include the return of the chattel or its value and damages, the value of the chattel and damages

2. Wrongfully denying someone’s rightful title to goods (by taking possession, abusing possession or denying title) the tort of conversion

What is trespass to chattels?

Deliberate use or otherwise interference with a chattel in the possession of another without lawful authority.

What constitutes ana interference?

Hutchins v Maughan

Laying bait in a field which a dog consumed and poisoned the dog. Not trespass to chattels as not direct.

Possession

Law is not concerned with protecting those in ownership but rather those in possession. An action may lie against the owner, where they exceed their lawful authority over a good.

Keenan Bros Ltd v CIE

The owner of goods which were delayed in train wagons was not allowed to enter the wagons to move the goods by CIE. If they were to enter, they would be liable for trespass.

ESB v Hastings & Co

The court held that ESB who laid cables under the land, retained sufficient possession of them to sue for trespass when they were damaged.

Authority for position of chattels found

Webb v Ireland

“trespassers ab initio” digging exceeded their right to be there

Position of found chattels

• The true owner has a superior right over all others

• The owner of land on which property is found will generally have a superior right over all others. This is accepted where the item was attached to the land, under the land or partially submerged in the land.

• If the item is found on the land, and it is not clear that the land owner asserted a claim over it then the finder may have a superior right where he was lawfully on the land at the time he found it

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