The following are defenses that the defendant may raise in response to the plaintiff’s intentional tort claim:

1. Consent
2. Self-Defense
3. Defense of Others
4. Defense of Property
5. Recapture of Chattels
6. Necessity
7. Arrest
8. Justification

Defense of Property

• A person may use reasonable force to defend his property.
  • Verbal demand for intruder to cease must be made
    • Exceptions:
      1. Reasonably appear immediate harm will occur;
      2. Reasonably appear demand to stop will be useless.
    • Mistake about supposed intruder’s right to be on the property is not privileged.
    • Mistake as to whether force is necessary is a reasonable mistake.
• Deadly force may be used where:
  1. Non-deadly force will not suffice;
  2. Serious bodily injury or death will occur;
  3. Owner reasonably believes nothing short of deadly force will keep a burglar out.

Recapture of Chattels

• A person may use reasonable force to regain possession of chattels wrongfully taken by someone else if and only if the property owner acts without unreasonable delay (Fresh Pursuit).
  • Property must be wrongfully taken in order for a privilege to exist.
    • Ex. Jonathan lends a backpack to Stacy for two days.  On the third day, Stacy does not return the backpack.  Jonathan cannot use reasonable force to take the backpack back from Stacy because she did not wrongfully take the backpack from Jonathan.
• Deadly force cannot be used to recapture chattels.
• Merchants may exercise shopkeeper’s privilege to temporarily detain an individual for a short time in order to conduct an investigation.