Dismissal of plaintiffs’ $425,000 timber trespass claim and plaintiff’s agreeing to pay firm’s clients $21,000 in attorney fees
The firm’s clients were sued for over $425,000 when a neighbor claimed the clients willfully logged 700 trees off of plaintiffs’ property. Shareholder Chris Drotzmann traced the history of the properties’ ownership back to the 1950s. He then established through multiple declarations that a fence line had acted as the property line for over 60 years despite three surveys showing the legal description of the property line was 1.4 acres north of the fence line. On cross-motions for summary judgment the court ruled the firm’s clients and their predecessors in interest had acquired the disputed 1.4 acres via adverse possession, resulting in a denial of plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and the granting of the firm’s clients’ cross-motion. After the motion was granted, plaintiffs agreed to abide by the ruling and pay the firm’s clients $21,000 in attorney fees based upon the timber trespass statute’s discretionary prevailing party attorney fee provision.