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First Principles of Business Law |
| Liability in tort for wrongful conduct |
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3. Trespass to chattels |
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3.1. Wrongful interference with moveable property |
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Read the example below, and then answer the questions. A leases premises and furniture to operate a coffee shop in a shopping mall. A's lease permits him to place tables and chairs outside his shop. C, who owns the business next door, complains that A's tables and chairs encroach too closely on his shop. A takes no notice. One day, when A places the tables outside his cafe, C removes them, putting them inside his own shop. When A asks for them back, C immediately says "OK" and returns them undamaged. The next day, C does not take the tables away, but pushes them all together, away from his shop. A wants to know if he has a legal right of action against C for trespass to chattels. |
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1. Does it matter that A does not own the tables and chairs? 2. Is C's first act (of taking the tables and chairs but handing them back when asked) a trespass against A? 3. Does A have a right to claim damages for trespass even though the tables and chairs were not damaged in any way by C? 4. Is C's second act (of pushing the tables and chairs away from his shop) a trespass against A? |
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