One of the first cases in a law school tort class is Katko v Briney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney).

One of the first cases in a law school tort class is Katko v Briney (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney). Briney was a farmer fed up with a break-ins of an abandoned house that he owned. He set up a shotgun to shoot at an intruder's knees if and when the intruder forced the door. Katko, a trespasser, broke in and was shot and injured, sued and won. The quote I remember is (I had to look it up): ‘The value of human life and limb, not only to the individual concerned but also to society, so outweights the interest of a possessor of land in excluding from it those whom he is not willing to admit thereto that a possessor of land has . . . no privilege to use force intended or likely to cause death or serious harm against another whom the possessor sees about to enter his premises or meddle with his chattel, unless the intrusion threatens death or serious bodily harm to the occupiers or users of the premises.