Also known as: excessively · unreasonable
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A degree or extent that surpasses the limits of what is reasonable or permissible under governing legal standards.
Eileen Epstein took her neighbor's lawnmower and kept it hidden for nine months while the neighbor searched fruitlessly. The prolonged absence prevented the neighbor from using the mower during the entire growing season. Because the deprivation lasted far longer than any temporary use would justify, the taking was excessive and satisfied the permanent-deprivation element of larceny.
Emma Erickson kept feed invoices locked inside a padlocked shed on her hemp farm. Officers cut the lock and seized the records without a warrant during an unannounced visit. The forced entry into a secured area was excessive and raised a claim that the search exceeded Fourth Amendment bounds.
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Evelyn Ellison agreed to pay her lawyer a flat fee equal to forty percent of any recovery plus hourly rates for all staff time. The lawyer spent only twelve hours on a straightforward contract dispute that settled quickly. The combination of the percentage and the hourly charges produced a total far above the factors listed in the rule, rendering the fee excessive.
Enzo Eastwood sought to reopen an old access road across Ella Emerson's land after she had planted a vineyard in reliance on years of nonuse. Restoring the road would destroy dozens of vines and require removal of irrigation lines. The resulting damage to the servient parcel was excessive and met the standard for denying revival of the easement.
Elise Everly rented a warehouse from Everest Holdings without knowing that the roof beams were rotted. The landlord had inspected the beams and recognized the collapse risk but said nothing. When a section of roof fell and injured a subtenant, the undisclosed condition created liability because the risk posed was excessive.
Eastern Electric's delivery driver brushed against a pedestrian while turning a corner on a crowded sidewalk. The driver had not aimed to touch anyone and the contact caused no injury. Because the driver lacked intent to cause harmful or offensive contact, the pedestrian could not recover for battery even though the maneuver carried some excessive risk of contact.
Courts apply three guideposts: the reprehensibility of the conduct, the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages, and the difference between the award and authorized civil or criminal penalties in comparable cases. An extreme ratio such as one hundred to one, combined with modest actual harm and low statutory penalties, renders the award unconstitutionally excessive under due process.
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A subpoena is excessive when compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive because of its breadth, cost, time required, or intrusion on legitimate interests such as trade secrets. Courts may quash or narrow such a subpoena on a prompt motion by the recipient, especially a nonparty.
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A landlord is liable when a natural or artificial condition existing at the start of the tenancy poses an unreasonable risk of physical harm, the tenant neither knows nor has reason to know of the risk, and the landlord knows or should know of the condition and the risk.
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…terms of the taking of property; the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to keep and bear arms; the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and so on. It is a rational continuum which, broadly speaking, includes a freedom from all substantial arbitrary impositions and purposeless restraints . . . and…