Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An event causing widespread destruction or loss of life that creates an imminent threat to public safety or property. The event supplies the factual predicate for privileges allowing entry onto land or interference with chattels when reasonably believed necessary to avert harm.
An event causing widespread destruction or loss of life that creates an imminent threat to public safety or property. It also triggers regulatory rules governing post-event conduct such as lawyer solicitations and lease terminations.
An event causing widespread destruction or loss of life that creates an imminent threat to public safety or property. The event supplies the factual predicate for privileges allowing entry onto land or interference with chattels when reasonably believed necessary to avert harm.
During a wildfire that knocked out power to a nuclear facility and nearby town, Park Utilities technicians believed immediate repairs were required to prevent reactor failure. They cut a locked gate on Delta Wind's property and drove across fields, damaging solar panels and irrigation lines. The faster route allowed repairs before cooling systems failed. Delta Wind later sued for trespass.
An event causing widespread destruction or loss of life that creates an imminent threat to public safety or property. It also triggers regulatory rules governing post-event conduct such as lawyer solicitations and lease terminations.
After a bus accident killed several passengers, a law firm sent targeted letters to victims' families claiming clear liability. The letters arrived within two weeks of the crash. State bar rules barred such solicitations for thirty days after a mass disaster. The firm faced discipline for the premature contact.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
After a hurricane flooded a warehouse district, Atlas Logistics placed containers on Lopez's parking lot under emergency authorization. When the federal office ended the emergency, Atlas left the containers in place for months despite Lopez's demands for removal. Lopez sued for trespass to land based on the continued occupation.
The defendant must show a reasonable belief that entry was necessary to avert an imminent public disaster. The belief is measured objectively under the circumstances known at the time. Even when the privilege applies, the defendant remains liable for actual damage caused to the possessor's property.
No. Once the emergency ends and consent or privilege is revoked, continued presence becomes unprivileged. Intentional failure to remove structures or chattels after revocation constitutes a new trespass even if the initial entry was lawful.
After a fire substantially damaged a rental unit, the landlord gave the tenant notice that the lease would terminate in five days because continued occupancy was dangerous. The tenant disputed the termination. The court upheld the landlord's right to end the lease under the statute governing disaster damage.
After flood damage made a dwelling unit unsafe, the landlord served notice terminating the lease on a date at least five days later. The tenant claimed the notice was insufficient. The statute permitted termination when repairs required the tenant to vacate after a natural disaster.
After a mass-casualty event, a law firm mailed targeted letters to victims asserting clear liability within the prohibited window. State rules required a thirty-day waiting period after the disaster. The court upheld discipline because the content-neutral timing rule protected victims from overreaching.
States may impose reasonable waiting periods before targeted solicitations are permitted. The restriction protects victims during a period of vulnerability and prevents misleading claims of clear liability. Content-neutral time limits satisfy First Amendment standards when they serve privacy and overreaching concerns.
The presumption applies when the governing instrument contains language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or deaths in a common disaster and that language is operable under the facts of the case.
…F. 2d 150 (CA6 1973), cert. pending, No. 73-5520 (article concerning family members of the victim of a highly publicized bridge disaster not actionable absent proof of actual malice); Porter v. Guam Publications, Inc. , 475 F. 2d 744, 745 (CA9 1973) (article concerning citizen's arrest for theft of a cash box considered an…