Trespass to chattels is a
tort whereby the infringing party has intentionally (or, in Australia,
negligently) interfered with another person's lawful possession of a
chattel (movable personal
property). The interference can be any physical contact with the chattel in a quantifiable way, or any dispossession of the chattel (whether by taking it, destroying it, or barring the owner's access to it). As opposed to the greater wrong of
conversion, trespass to chattels is argued to be actionable
per se.