Trespass, Nuisance and a Violation of Zoning

¶ … trespass, nuisance and a violation of zoning laws.

The first and perhaps most lucrative cause of action would be trespass. Trespass to land is an intentional tort to property. To establish a prima facie case for trespass to land, a plaintiff has to prove an act of physical invasion of the plaintiff's real property by the defendant; intent on the defendant's part to bring about a physical invasion of the plaintiff's real property; and causation. (Barbri, Torts, 8) In trespass, the defendant need not himself enter onto the plaintiff's land: Trespass exists where the defendant floods the plaintiff's land, throws rocks onto it or chases third persons onto it, etc. (Barbri, Torts, 9)

In this case, Jim caused the oil the run onto Bob's property, but the question is: Was that intentional, or merely negligent? If negligent, trespass won't apply, but if Bob can prove that Jim intentionally created a situation in which the oil would leak onto Bob's property, there is a cause of action, and under trespass, there is no requirement for actual damages; damages are presumed and actual injury to the land isn't an essential element of the cause of action. (Barbri, Torts, 9)

Under nuisance law, since Bob didn't "come to the nuisance," he can sue Jim for violating his peaceful enjoyment of his property as well.

And under the constitutionally recognized zoning law, Bob can bring a suit for zoning violation against Jim and have his operation shut down for violations of the area's zoning requirements.

2)

John has breached his contract to sell his historic home to Susan. He signed a contract and there existed offer, acceptance and consideration, the three elements necessary to form an enforceable contract.

John offered to sell the home, Susan accepted the offer and the consideration was $350,000. In addition, for contracts of real property sales, signatures are required, and John signed the contract.

Susan can sue, and the court will grant specific performance. This means that the court acknowledges that simple monetary compensation will not place the situation in equity. Susan contracted to buy a particular historic home, so simply giving her the money to buy another home, or compensating her for her transaction costs, is not enough. For equity, she must be given the home itself.