Legal Definitions - breach of close

Breach of close refers to the unlawful or unauthorized entry onto another person's private land. It is a traditional legal term for what is more commonly known today as trespass, specifically involving the physical intrusion upon property that is considered "closed" or private, without the owner's permission or any legal right to be there.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a breach of close:

• Imagine a scenario where a group of friends decides to take a shortcut through what they believe is an open field. However, the field is actually part of a private farm, clearly marked with "No Trespassing" signs and a fence. When they climb over the fence and walk across the farmer's land without permission, they are committing a breach of close. Their unauthorized entry onto the private property, despite the clear warnings, constitutes this legal violation.

• Consider a landscaping company hired to work on a residential property. Due to an oversight or misreading of the property lines, one of their crew members accidentally drives a lawnmower onto a small section of the adjacent neighbor's yard to trim a bush. Even though the intrusion was unintentional and brief, the act of entering the neighbor's private land without permission is technically a breach of close. It demonstrates that intent is not always a requirement for the act of trespass to occur.

• Suppose a local utility company needs to access an easement on a homeowner's property to repair an underground cable. If the utility workers enter the property and begin digging without first notifying the homeowner or obtaining proper consent, and their easement rights do not cover this specific type of entry or they exceed the scope of their easement, their actions could be considered a breach of close. This highlights that even entities with some rights to access land can commit a breach if they do not follow proper procedures or exceed their authorized scope.