Shattock v Devlin - [1990] 2 NZLR 88

Tort — Trespass — Defences — Damages — Dispute arose between occupier of private land and defendant over ownership of a barn on the land — Without consent of owner or occupier, defendant entered the land and started dismantling the barn — Police entered the property to ensure that occupier did not prevent defendant from removing the barn — Occupier arrived and ordered defendant and police to leave the property — Defendant continued to dismantle the barn and eventually removed it from the property — Whether barn was a fixture — Whether police had express or implied licence to enter the land — Whether entry was justified under the Crimes Act — Whether common law right of entry for necessity to prevent a breach of the peace applies in New Zealand — Whether defendant and the police were liable for aggravated and exemplary damages — Crimes Act 1961, s 317.