Dehn v Attorney-General - [1988] 2 NZLR 564

Damages — Exemplary — Trespass, assault and defamation — Police entered private property after prior implied licence had been revoked — Whether nominal damages should be awarded for trespass when occupier had suffered no damage — Whether exemplary damages should be awarded for assault and defamation when police actions were bona fide — Observations on the right to recover common law damages for the mental consequences of a tort such as trespass to land — Accident Compensation Act 1982, s 27.

Tort — Trespass — Defences — Police entered private property after prior implied licence had been revoked — Entry was to investigate the possibility that an offence may already have occurred — Whether entry was justified under the Crimes Act — Whether entry was justified under the common law defence of necessity — Observations on the criteria for applying the defence of necessity in a case involving apprehended danger to property — Crimes Act 1961, s 317.