Becker v. Dupree

Citations

• 75 Ill. 167

Syllabus

<p>1. Trespass—when party liable for officer’s acts. Where a landlord issues his distress warrant against his tenant, and puts it into the hands of an officer to be levied upon his tenant’s goods, giving no specific directions as to what property shall be taken, and the officer and his assistants seize the goods of a sub-tenant, the landlord will not be liable in trespass to the sub-tenant, unless he afterwards ratifies or approves of the act, or holds the goods after notice of the facts.</p> <p>2. The delivery of a distress warrant to an officer, with directions to execute it, cannot be held, by any known rule of law, to render the landlord liable for the unauthorized and unapproved acts of the bailiff and his assistants. In the absence of proof to the contrary.it will not be presumed that the landlord directed the bailiff to seize property of any person other than the tenant named in the writ.</p> <p>3. Same—when liable ab initio. Where an officer executing a distress warrant seizes the property of a stranger, if the landlord ratifies the act and retains the property after knowledge of the fact, he will thereby render himself liable as a trespasser ab initio.</p> <p>4. Exemplary damages—when recoverable in trespass. To justify the recovery of exemplary damages for a trespass to property, it must be shown that the defendant was actuated by malice or a reckless disregard of the plaintiff’s rights; and when two are sued, and one of them is not chargeable with malice or recklessness, exemplary damages cannot be recovered against both.</p>