Hawley v. Sharley

Marvin Hawley, plaintiff, initiated this lawsuit seeking to recover treble damages under Rem. Rev. Stat., § 939 [P.P.C. § 103-5], from L. C. Sharley and George Locke and their respective spouses, defendants, for allegedly cutting and removing timber without authority from a lot owned by Hawley in Pierce county, Washington.

The defendants generally denied the allegation of the complaint. In addition, Locke and wife interposed an affirmative defense based on Rem. Rev. Stat., § 940 [P.P.C. § 103-7], that the trespass, if any, and the cutting of trees was casual, involuntary, and with probable…