CHAPTER VII 



CIVIL LIABILITY FOR TRESPASS UPON TIMBER 



AND FOR THE CONVERSION OF TIMBER 



PRODUCTS. 



68. Trespass upon Realty. Every unauthorized en- 

 try upon the land of another constitutes trespass, 1 and the 

 'offense will be established though the actual injury shown 

 be only slight, 2 or even though no damage whatever be 

 proven. 3 In an action for trespass it is not necessary that 

 the plaintiff prove an unlawful intent on the part of the 

 defendant. The defendant may be liable for trespass 

 even though his action were due to a mistake of fact, or 

 a mistake of law. 4 Thus a timber trespass may be due to 

 misunderstanding as to the description of the land, as to 

 the boundaries or as to the rights of the plaintiff or the 

 defendant regarding the land or timber, 5 and actual dam- 

 ages may be recovered even when the trespass was not 

 wilful. 6 The burden of proving the act unintentional 

 rests upon defendant. 7 However, only nominal damages 



1. Tubbs v. Lynch, 4 Harr. (Del.) 521; Pfeiffer v. Grossman, 15 111. 53 Hatch v. 



Donnell, 74 Me. 163; Brown v. Manter, 22 N. H. 468; Barneycastle v. Walker, 

 92 N. C. 198 (wrongful entry by landlord); Dougherty v. Stepp, 18 N. C. 371; 

 Norvell v. Gray, 1 Swan (Tenn.) 96; Ripy v. Less (Civ. App. 1909), 118 S. W. 

 1084 (Texas) ; See 46 Cent. Dig. tit. "Trespass," Sec. 10. 



2. Postal Tel. Cable Co. v. Kuhnen, 127 Ga. 20, 55 S. E. 967; Keirn v. Warneld, 60 



Miss. 799; For other citations see 38 Cyc. 995, Note 15. 



3. For citations of cases in many states see 38 Cyc. 995, Note 15, Ed. 1911. 



4. Mistake, generally: Mishler Lumber Co. v. Craig, 112 Mo. App. 454, 87 S. W. 41; 



As to land: Quillen v. Betts, 1 Pennew (Del.) 53, 39 Atl. 595; Cahill v. Harris, 

 6 D. C. 214; As to boundaries, Gosdin v. Williams, 151 Ala. 592, 44 So. 611; 

 Jeffries v. Hargis, 50 Ark. 65, 6 S. W. 328; Atlantic etc. Consolidated Coal Co. v. 

 Maryland Coal Co., 62 Md. 135; Blaen Avon Coal Co. v. McCulloch, 59 Md. 

 403, 43 Am. Rep. 560; Chase v. Clearfleld Lbr. Co., 209 Pa. St. 422, 58 Atl. 813; 

 Contra by statute: Blackburn v. Bowman, 46 N. C. 441; As to land being a 

 parcel owned by Def . : Sunnyside Coal etc. Co. v. Reity, 14 Ind. App. 478, 39 

 N. E. 541, 43 N. E. 46; Perry v. Jefferies, 61 S. C. 292, 39 S. E. 515. 



5. Waverly Timber etc. Co. v. St. Louis Cooperage Co., 112 Mo. 383, 20 S. W. 566; 



Forsyth v. Wells, 41 Pa. St. 291, 80 Am. Dec. 617; But see, Richardson v. 

 Stevens, 6 N. Y. Suppl. 361, (Mutual mistake of parties). 



6. Bolton v. Hendrix, 84 S. C. 35, 65 S. E. 947. 



7. Trustees Dartmouth College v. Intn'l Paper Co., 132 Fed. 92. 



66 



