Legal Definitions - damnum facientes

Damnum facientes is a Latin legal phrase that literally translates to "doing damage." It refers to the act of causing harm or injury to property while unlawfully present on someone else's land. This term is most frequently applied in situations where animals trespass onto another person's property and cause damage, such as destroying crops or other possessions.

• Example 1: A rancher's herd of goats escapes their enclosure and wanders onto a neighboring organic farm. The goats proceed to graze extensively on the farm's newly planted vegetable rows, consuming and trampling a significant portion of the crop.

  Explanation: In this scenario, the goats are considered "damnum facientes" because they are trespassing on the organic farm and actively causing damage by destroying the valuable vegetable crops.

• Example 2: A group of wild boars, known to roam a rural area, breaks through a weak section of fencing around a private vineyard. Once inside, they root up several rows of mature grapevines, making them unproductive for the season.

  Explanation: The wild boars are "damnum facientes" as they have unlawfully entered the vineyard and are causing substantial damage to the grapevines, which are the property of the vineyard owner.

• Example 3: During a local fair, a pony being led by its owner briefly gets loose and trots into a nearby residential yard. Before it can be retrieved, the pony kicks over a decorative birdbath and eats several prize-winning roses from a flowerbed.

  Explanation: The pony's actions constitute "damnum facientes" because it trespassed onto private property and caused damage by breaking the birdbath and consuming the roses.