PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM FOR TREBLE DAMAGES IN THIS TIMBER TRESPASS ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, THERE EXIST QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT MADE ADEQUATE EFFORTS TO ENSURE IT HAD THE LEGAL RIGHT TO HARVEST THE TIMBER (THIRD DEPT).
The Third Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff’s claim for treble damages in this timber trespass claim should not have been dismissed. There was a question of fact whether defendant made adequate efforts to ensure the timber was not taken from plaintiff’s land:
Defendant concedes that it trespassed upon the subject property and cleared trees, rendering it liable (see RPAPL 861 … . Accordingly, in order to avoid an award of treble damages, defendant was obliged to show by clear and convincing evidence that it “had cause to believe . . . [that it had] a legal right to harvest” timber from the subject property (RPAPL 861 [2]…). Defendant endeavored to do so with the deposition of its vice-president, who stated that D’Assy represented that he had obtained permission from plaintiff to remove trees from the subject property. The vice-president acknowledged, however, that no efforts were made to confirm that D’Assy’s account was correct. He further admitted that he did not recall if this conversation with D’Assy occurred before or after the actual trespass. The foregoing proof, particularly in view of the aim of RPAPL 861 to encourage timber harvesters to be more diligent in preventing inadvertent timber trespass … , is not at all clear as to whether defendant had a good faith basis for believing that it had permission from plaintiff to remove timber from the subject property at the time it did so. Defendant therefore failed to meet its initial burden of demonstrating the absence of “factual questions with regard to whether plaintiff is entitled to treble damages pursuant to RPAPL 861” … .
Finally, plaintiff correctly points out that he is entitled not only to “‘the stumpage value or $250 per tree, or both’ for an unlawful taking” … , but also reparations for “any permanent and substantial damage caused to the land or the improvements thereon as a result of such violation” … . Supreme Court, upon remittal, should consider all of those items in calculating its award of damages. DiSanto v D’Assy, 2018 NY Slip Op 05007, Third Dept 7-5-18
REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS LAW (TIMBER TRESPASS, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM FOR TREBLE DAMAGES IN THIS TIMBER TRESPASS ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, THERE EXIST QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT MADE ADEQUATE EFFORTS TO ENSURE IT HAD THE LEGAL RIGHT TO HARVEST THE TIMBER (THIRD DEPT))/TIMBER TRESPASS (REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS LAW, PLAINTIFF’S CLAIM FOR TREBLE DAMAGES IN THIS TIMBER TRESPASS ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, THERE EXIST QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT MADE ADEQUATE EFFORTS TO ENSURE IT HAD THE LEGAL RIGHT TO HARVEST THE TIMBER (THIRD DEPT))