--- title: Trespass and a Tree - What's a Tree Worth, or Take Out One Tree, Pay for Three? description: The cause of action of Trespass is pretty simple. You cross into someone else's property, you are wrong. The complexity of the cause of action arises from the damages caused by the Trespass. If there are no damages, there is no cause of action. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/trespass-and-a-tree-whats-a-tree-worth-or-take-out-one-tree-pay-for-three#) 12/21/2016 # Trespass and a Tree - What's a Tree Worth, or Take Out One Tree, Pay for Three? - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Trespass%20and%20a%20Tree%20-%20What%27s%20a%20Tree%20Worth%2C%20or%20Take%20Out%20One%20Tree%2C%20Pay%20for%20Three%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Ftrespass-and-a-tree-whats-a-tree-worth-or-take-out-one-tree-pay-for-three](mailto:?subject=Trespass%20and%20a%20Tree%20-%20What%27s%20a%20Tree%20Worth%2C%20or%20Take%20Out%20One%20Tree%2C%20Pay%20for%20Three%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Ftrespass-and-a-tree-whats-a-tree-worth-or-take-out-one-tree-pay-for-three) The cause of action of Trespass is pretty simple. You cross into someone else's property, you are wrong. The complexity of the cause of action arises from the damages caused by the Trespass. If there are no damages, there is no cause of action. The Minnesota Supreme Court just addressed what a tree is worth in a trespass case. Factually, two neighbors had a long-standing dispute over one neighbor trespassing onto the others' property. The trespassing apparently caused little to no damage, ostensibly the reason for there not being any prior suits. But, when the non-trespassing neighbor recently returned from a trip to Scandinavia, he found the trespassing neighbor had cleared a cluster of trees and installed some impervious elements in the cleared area. Of note, the cleared trees were mature, healthy, provided much-desired shade, wind protection, and sound protection. Also of note, the removal of the trees by the trespassing neighbor was deemed intentional. What then is the value of the removed trees? The first measure of damages is the estimated cost to replace the removed trees. The Court will not require a 20 foot Fraser Fir be replaced with a 20 foot Fraser Fir. That exchange is deemed economically impractical. So, to replace one mature tree, the cost to replace anywhere from 3-5 young trees per removed tree was ordered by the district court, and approved by the Supreme Court. Additionally, Minnesota has a statutory deterrent to such inane conduct. In this case, as a penalty for removing trees intentionally, the prevailing party was awarded treble damages. So, the trespasser's bill for $46,000 to replace the removed trees tripled to $138,000! Land issues can get personal and contentious quickly. Contact me to learn and prepare on how to de-escalate disputes quickly through the use of professionals and written communications. It just might save you a lot more money than you realize. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. All information contained in links are the property of the linked site. - [damage](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/damage), - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney), - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo), - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law), - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer), - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal), - [minnesota](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/minnesota), - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn), - [neighbors](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/neighbors), - [property dispute](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/property-dispute), - [trespass](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/trespass) ![Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/assets-mjfw/site%20images/Dans-Desk.jpg) ## [Dan Gallatin](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) Dan is a lifelong resident of Minnesota. Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [05/22/2019 Emotional Distress: Compensable as an Injury On occasion, clients ask about the emotional distress caused by someone else's wrongdoing. Emotional distress is compensable as an injury, but just… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/emotional-distress-compensable-as-an-injury) [06/05/2020 Insurance Coverage for Acts of Terror Substantial destruction is being caused to innocent parties. The prospect of criminal restitution for damage caused is next to zero. The primary… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/insurance-coverage-for-acts-of-terror) ### Subscribe Here! ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Dan Gallatin", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin" }, "dateModified" : "2020-08-21T22:40:13.377Z", "datePublished" : "2016-12-21T06:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Trespass and a Tree - What's a Tree Worth, or Take Out One Tree, Pay for Three?", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/trespass-and-a-tree-whats-a-tree-worth-or-take-out-one-tree-pay-for-three", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/logos/Gallatin-Logo-654x84.png" }, "name" : "Gallatin Law, PLLC" } } ```