trespasser ab initio
Defined in 4 dictionaries — Case Law, Cyclopedic (1922), Bouvier (1914), Stimson (1881)
Definitions from Case Law
From 84 U.S. 82 - Averill v. Smith · 1872Most cited · 28 citing opinions
not doing a thing cannot make a party a trespasser ab initio, because not doing is no trespass
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
A term applied to denote that one who has commenced a lawful act in a proper manner has performed some unlawful act, or some lawful act in an unlawful manner, so connected with the previous act that he is to be regarded as having acted unlawfully from the beginning. See 8 Coke, 146; 5 Taunt. 198; 7 Add. & E. 176; 11 Mees. & W. 740; 15 Johns. (N. Y.) 401. See "Ab Initio."
Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia
John Bouvier; revised by Francis Rawle · 1914
A term applied to denote that one who has commenced a lawful act in a proper manner, has performed some unlawful act, or some lawful act in an unlawful manner, so connected with the previous act that he is to be regarded as having acted unlawfully from the beginning. See 6 Carpenters’ Case, 8 Co. 146; s. c. 1 Sm. L. C. *216; Webb’s Poll. Torts. See Ab Initio; Ames’ Lect. on Leg. Hist. 5G.
Glossary of Technical Terms, Phrases, and Maxims of the Common Law
Frederic Jesup Stimson · 1881
Trespasser applied to a tort-feasor whose acts previous act, at the time innocent, ably, and subsequently commit a is considered a trespass.