A person borrows a friend's bicycle and keeps it for a week; what tort is this?

• A. Trespass to chattel
• B. Interference with property but not severe
• C. Conversion
• D. Trespass to land

Answer: (C)

Distinguishing between trespass to chattel and conversion hinges on how substantial the interference with someone’s personal property is. When you borrow a friend’s bicycle and keep it for a week, you exercise dominion and control over that property for a prolonged period, depriving the owner of use during that time. That level of interference crosses from mere interference with possession into conversion, because it treats the bike as something you’ve effectively taken for yourself rather than merely touched or damaged briefly.

Trespass to chattel covers intentional interference that harms the owner’s use of the property but is typically limited in duration or impact. Leaving the bike unused for a week is more than a temporary or minor interference, so the more serious remedy and theory fit conversion.

Trespass to land doesn’t apply here because the issue concerns personal property, not land or real estate. If the interference were minor or easily curable, or the item could be returned with only nominal damage, trespass to chattel might be more appropriate, but the prolonged withholding makes conversion the right classification.