Wallace v. Finch

Finch sued Wallace in the court below in an action of trespass, to recover damages for cutting on his land, and carrying away, a quantity of forest trees. The action was founded on § 1 of Ch. Ill, of the R. S., of 181¡.6, entitled “ Of trespasses on lands;” and on the trial the jury found in favor of the plaintiff for four hundred and eighty-six dollars, and stated in the verdict that “the defendant did not have probable cause to believe that the land on which the trespasses were committed was his own.”

The court, on motion of the plaintiff, awarded judgment for three times the amount found by…