28.5.1 Intent.

JurisdictionArizona

28.5.1 Intent. There is some ambiguity under Arizona law as to the level of intent necessary to establish a trespass to land.28 In dicta, the Arizona Supreme Court cited to the Restatement, and noted that “the tort of trespass . . . requires an intentional entry onto the land of another.”29 In addition, the Arizona Court of Appeals held that a trespass onto land must be intentional, and bolded the term “intentionally” in its citation to the Restatement.30 Very recently, the court of appeals again noted that one must intentionally enter the plaintiff’s land or cause another to enter to sustain a cause of action for trespass to land.31

However, the court of appeals previously held that a defendant could be liable for trespass to land if his entry onto land was “intentional, or negligent, or the result of an abnormally dangerous activity in which he is engaged.”32 This is consistent with the Restatement, which recognizes causes of action for trespass in situations in which the defendant’s conduct was not intentional.33 Restatement (Second) of Torts § 165 indicates that a defendant who acts recklessly or negligently or who engages in an abnormally dangerous activity can be found...

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