Threatt v. Rushing

Threatt (defendant), holding a life estate reserved when she conveyed timber land to her children (plaintiffs), later cut about 110,000 of the property's roughly 1,000,000 board feet of standing timber (worth about $15,000) without the children's consent, claiming the cutting removed mature trees to thin the land and promote faster growth of smaller timber; the children sued for an injunction and damages, alleging the cutting constituted waste, and the trial court agreed, granting relief. Threatt appealed.