Berliner v. Clukay

The defendant, Craig Clukay d/b/a Treeline Timber, appeals from a jury verdict in Superior Court {Burling, J.) awarding the plaintiff, William Berliner, $648,500.00 in damages for the unlawful harvesting of over 5,000 trees from the plaintiffs property. We affirm.

I

The following facts are undisputed. The plaintiff owns three large parcels of undeveloped forest land in Landaff, which he previously used for recreational purposes, including hiking and camping. An abutting landowner hired the defendant to harvest her property. While performing this task, the defendant crossed onto the plaintiffs…