Case v. Montana · ¶41

The common-law emergency rule is now often summarized this way: “One is privileged to enter or remain on land in the possession of another if it is or reasonably appears to be necessary to prevent serious harm to . . . the actor[,] . . . the other[,] or a third person . . . unless the actor knows or has reason to know that the one for whose benefit he enters is unwilling that he shall take such action.” Restatement (Second) of Torts § 197(1) (1963–1964). But, of course, this privilege comes with its logical limitations. So, for example, a private citizen who enters a home to render emergency aid lacks license to do so in a manner “which a reasonable man would not regard as necessary to” address the apparent emergency. Id., § 214, and Comment a; see also id., § 197, Comment a; Des Moines v. Webster, 861 N. W. 2d 878, 883– 885 (Iowa App. 2014); State v. Lukus, 149 Mont. 45, 50–51, 423 P.…

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