Lawton v. Chase
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tobt. Writ dated March 23, 1870. The declaration alleged that a tract of woodland in Rehoboth was possessed and occupied by Meribah Rounds as tenant thereof for life, with remainder to the plaintiffs; and that the defendant cut certain trees thereon and converted the timber to his use.
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Tobt. Writ dated March 23, 1870. The declaration alleged that a tract of woodland in Rehoboth was possessed and occupied by Meribah Rounds as tenant thereof for life, with remainder to the plaintiffs; and that the defendant cut certain trees thereon and converted the timber to his use. The answer denied that the defendant felled any trees on the land; and alleged that certain trees thereon were prostrated by a storm, that on the petition of Mrs. Rounds trustees were appointed by the probate court tc sell the wood on the tract and sold the same to the defendant, and that whatever the defendant…
1Opinion of the CourtMorton, J.
1. The trees upon the plaintiffs’ land having been prostrated by a gale, the defendant entered upon the premises, trimmed the trees, and cut some of them into short logs, called box-board logs. All the timber remained upon the land, and enured to the benefit of the owners of the land, free from any claim for the cutting which had been done by the defendant. It is impossible to ascertain the injury done to the plaintiffs by the acts of the defendant, except by comparing the value of the timber as it lay when prostrated, with its value after the defendant had trimmed and cut it into box-board…
2Cases cited2 opinions
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