Chapter 16-9 License

• Jurisdiction: United States

16-9 License

License is a consent based defense to a trespass to real property claim.⁷² When the plaintiff has pleaded and proven its ownership to land and the defendant's entry upon the land, the defendant must then establish that it had a license to enter the land to avoid liability.⁷³ A license may either arise from actual or apparent consent.⁷⁴

come to an end, so that parties can go on with their lives and the system can move on to other disputes.").

16-9:1 Elements

(1) The plaintiff gave its consent for the defendant to enter:⁷⁵

(a) Actual consent;⁷⁶ or
(b) Apparent consent;⁷⁷ and

(2) The defendant's entry was within the scope of the plaintiff's consent.⁷⁸

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Notes:

^[72] Stone Res., Inc. v. Barnett, 661 S.W.2d 148, 151 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, no writ).

^[73] Stone Res., Inc. v. Barnett, 661 S.W.2d 148, 151 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1983, no writ).

^[74] General Mills Rests., Inc. v. Tex. Wings, Inc., 12 S.W.3d 827, 835 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000, no pet.).

^[75] General Mills Rests., Inc. v. Tex. Wings, Inc., 12 S.W.3d 827, 835 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000, no pet.). Consent may be manifested by the conduct of the owner or the condition of the property.

^[76] General Mills Rests., Inc. v. Tex. Wings, Inc., 12 S.W.3d 827, 835 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000, no pet.).

^[77] General Mills Rests., Inc. v. Tex. Wings, Inc., 12 S.W.3d 827, 835 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000, no pet.). Apparent, or implied consent, only exists when "the owner (i) has actual knowledge that people have been entering the land and (ii) fails to take reasonable steps to prevent or discourage those persons from entering the land."

^[78] Loftus v. Maxey, 11 S.W. 272, 273 (Tex. 1889) (plaintiff's consent to allow the defendant to enter onto her property and remove personal property would not encompass the defendant's forcible entry).