For Your Data Jacque V. Steenberg Homes, Inc. Illustration Brief

Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc. case brief summary
563 N.W.2d 154 (Wis. 1997)

CASE SYNOPSIS

The Court of Appeals (Wisconsin) affirmed an company that granted accused trespasser's post-verdict motion to gear upwards aside a punitive damages laurels of $ 100,000 that was awarded to plaintiff belongings owners inwards improver to nominal damages of $ 1.00, afterwards it establish that the trespasser intentionally trespassed on the belongings owners' land. The belongings owners appealed.

CASE FACTS
Despite adamant protests past times the belongings owners, a trespasser plowed a path through their snow-covered acre together with delivered a mobile abode to the belongings owners' neighbor. In their intentional trespass action, they were awarded $ 1.00 inwards nominal damages together with $ 100,000 inwards punitive damages. The trespasser contended that judicial precedent precluded the punitive harm award.

DISCUSSION

The courtroom held that when nominal damages were awarded for an intentional trespass to land, punitive damages may last awarded inwards the discretion of the jury.
Because the belongings owners' legal correct to exclude all others from their province was involved, the courtroom noted that the constabulary recognized that actual harm occurred inwards every trespass.
In the instance of intentional trespass to land, the nominal harm laurels represented the recognition that actual harm had occurred.
The decision, which carved an exception to precedent, applied to the trespasser equally a vantage to the belongings owners who persevered inwards attacking an unsound rule.
The courtroom too held that the amount of punitive damages was non excessive because the trespasser's comport was egregious together with deceitful.

CONCLUSION
The courtroom reversed the judgment that gear upwards aside the punitive damages laurels together with remanded the instance amongst directions.

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