Beall v. King

1. The mere entering or breaking into a house occupied by another and taking possession of personalty therein belonging to the occupant, and exercising dominion over it, either by destroying it or by giving it away, is not necessarily a trespass or a violation of the rights of the owner. Such acts, unless done without authority of law or contrary to some right of the owner, or without the owner’s consent, constitute no tortious or actionable wrong. It follows, therefore, that where in a petition it is alleged that the defendants, after having broken into and entered a house of the plaintiff,…