Glavin v. Eckman
Massachusetts Appeals Court
881 N.E.2d 820 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008)
After Glavin (plaintiff) refused permission, Eckman (defendant) hired a contractor to cut down ten large, mature oak trees on Glavin's property that Glavin had intended to use for shade and as a pond backdrop; the trial court awarded Glavin $30,000 in restoration damages under a state statute criminalizing unauthorized tree-cutting that didn't specify how damages should be measured, and Eckman appealed, arguing damages should instead be measured by the trees' value or the resulting diminution in the property's market value.
Whether restoration damages, rather than the value of the trees cut or the diminution in the property's market value, are an appropriate measure of damages for unauthorized tree-cutting on another's land.