## Facts

- Swan owned a garden in New York City containing roots, vegetables, and flowers.
- Guille ascended in a balloon near the garden and descended into Swan’s garden, with his body hanging out of the balloon car in a dangerous position.
- Guille called loudly to a worker on the premises for help while a crowd pursued.
- The balloon dragged across the garden for about thirty feet, damaging crops; Guille was removed and the balloon was taken to a barn on the premises.
- More than two hundred people entered through fences onto Swan’s land and trampled vegetables and flowers.
- The balloon’s direct damage was about $15, while total damage (including the crowd’s damage) was about $90.
- In a trespass action in the Justice’s Court, the jury was instructed that Guille was responsible for all damages and returned a verdict for Swan for $90 plus costs.
- On certiorari, the New York Supreme Court reviewed the judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether trespass to land requires an intent to injure, or instead permits liability when the defendant’s act causes immediate physical injury though unintentional as to harm.
2. Whether a defendant whose conduct naturally draws a crowd onto another’s land is liable in trespass for the full resulting damage, including harm inflicted by the crowd.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for Swan.
- The court held that intent to injure is not required in trespass when the defendant’s act causes immediate injury.
- The court held Guille liable for the entire damage, including damage caused by the crowd, because the crowd’s entry and resulting harm were an ordinary and natural consequence of Guille’s descent and calls for assistance.

## Legal Principles

- In trespass, liability turns on whether the defendant’s act caused immediate injury; the defendant’s intent to harm is not the test.
- When multiple persons cause an immediate injury by joint action, each may be liable for the whole injury.
- A defendant may be charged for the acts of others if they acted in concert or if the defendant’s act ordinarily and naturally produced the others’ acts.
- One who sets a dangerous agency in motion and leaves resulting harm to chance may be liable in trespass for immediate injuries caused as a natural consequence of the act, even if the activity is lawful but hazardous.

## Conclusion

The court upheld a trespass verdict imposing full liability on a balloonist whose uncontrolled landing on private land and ensuing appeal for help predictably drew a crowd that entered and damaged the property, confirming that trespass may rest on immediate injury without intent to harm and may include foreseeable crowd-caused damage flowing directly from the defendant’s act.


Guille v. Swan, 19 Johns. 381 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1822)