Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: No Trespassing

In general, trespassing falls into two categories, civil and criminal, based upon who has the right to sue or prosecute when it occurs. The same acts can, of course, be both a criminal offense and a civil wrong.

Let's take civil trespass first. People who come on your land fall into three categories: invitees, privileged, and trespassers. Invitees can be further broken down into true guests and persons with an implied invitation, like delivery truck drivers. Privileged visitors would be police, building inspectors, process servers, land surveyors and others whose duties give them immunity from suit or prosecution when they carry out their duties properly. Privilege can be lost if they abuse it, i.e., the cops can't bust down your door without a warrant or when responding to an obvious emergency. The final category of persons committing civil trespass includes everyone who isn't an express or implied invitee or with a privilege, and this is true whether or not you are displaying "no trespassing" signs!

Any instance of civil trespass, no matter how trivial, entitles you to sue and recover damages. However, if you didn't sustain any real harm, you'd only get "nominal" damages, maybe ten dollars, far less than the cost to maintain suit.

Criminal trespass, for which someone can be fined, is as a practical matter going to require two things: acts that are (1) prosecutable under California's Penal Code, and (2) serious enough to command the attention of the DA's office, which is probably pretty busy with murder, rape, robbery, etc. matters and may simply not have the resources to respond to a citizen complaint about trespass.

I'll look up trespass in the Penal Code and give you a further response in a few minues.

Re: No Trespassing

It looks as though Penal Code section 602.8(a) is the most relevant criminal law regarding trespass to land where signs are posted. You may want to read it, but in doing so just remember that despite language that seems to make anyone's entry without permission a misdemeanor, there are many classes of persons who would be treated as having implied permission or be exempt from prosecution due to status (surveyors, police, etc.).

Also, it is widely recognized that a bona fide emergency excuses trespass, e.g. people fleeing a fire or flood would never be sued or prosecuted successfully.