Also known as: legally protected interests · protected interest · legal interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An interest recognized by law whose invasion by tortious conduct or other actionable means supports liability to the holder or confers standing to seek judicial relief.
Landon Long deliberately crosses the boundary line onto Lily Lopez's undeveloped parcel to take a shortcut. No crops are trampled and no structures are harmed. Lily Lopez nevertheless recovers damages for trespass because the exclusive possession of her land constitutes a legally protected interest.
Lillian Locke leases a warehouse from Lexicon Media while a recorded mortgage held by Loyal Insurance already encumbers the property. The mortgage is not terminable at the landlord's will. Loyal Insurance's interest remains paramount to both the landlord and the tenant.
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Lorenzo Lugo drives a delivery truck onto Lila Lin's farm while distracted and damages irrigation equipment. The equipment belongs to a third-party supplier whose security Lila Lin had contractually guaranteed. Lila Lin recovers because she holds a legally protected interest in the security of the supplier's equipment.
Lunar Dynamics acquires an equitable interest in leased retail space after the lease is signed. Linden Logistics later purchases the fee for value without notice of that interest. Linden Logistics's legal interest prevails over the equitable claim.
Latoya Lane intentionally shoves Landon Long during an argument, causing only momentary fright with no physical contact injury. Landon Long cannot recover for emotional distress alone because the conduct did not invade any legally protected interest beyond the unsuccessful battery attempt.
Lily Lopez's negligent maintenance of a retaining wall allows soil to slide onto Lillian Locke's adjacent lot. The slide invades Lillian Locke's right to undisturbed use of her property. Legal cause exists because the sequence links the negligence directly to the invasion of that legally protected interest.
No. Liability for intentional trespass arises even when the entry causes no harm to the land or to any thing or person in whose security the possessor holds a legally protected interest.
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A legally protected interest must be recognized by the Constitution, statute, or common law. A bare economic interest or expectancy does not suffice for standing or for recovery in tort.
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An equitable interest held by a third party is treated as paramount to the same extent as a legal interest, though it yields to a later legal interest purchased for value without notice.
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No. Conduct that invades a legally protected interest does not create liability for emotional distress when that distress is the only legal consequence of the conduct.
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…Valley Forge , 454 U. S., at 472. To establish injury in fact, a plaintiff must show that he has suffered “an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation , 497 U. S. 871, 883 (1990) (quoting Whitmore…