Wiersum v. Harder
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Paul Harder brought a lawsuit seeking restoration damages against Joel and Darlene Wiersum after the Wiersums cleared trees from Harder's property without his permission. The Wiersums filed a third-party complaint against Harder's sister, Lisa Wietfeld. They sought to apportion fault to Wietfeld, claiming that she had negligently misrepresented that she owned the property where the trees were cut when she gave them permission to remove trees from her property. The superior court granted Wietfeld's summary judgment motion; the remaining parties proceeded to trial and a jury awarded Harder compensatory restoration damages and statutory treble damages. The Wiersums appealed, arguing that the superior court erred by dismissing their claim against Wietfeld and by denying their motions for directed verdicts and judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Because the Supreme Court concluded that Wietfeld owed no duty to Harder, it affirmed the superior court's grant of summary judgment as to Wietfeld. Furthermore, the Court affirmed the denial of the Wiersums' motions for a directed verdict because Harder presented sufficient evidence for the issue of restoration costs to be submitted to the jury. However, the Court concluded that the superior court erred by denying the Wiersums' motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the jury's award of restoration damages was objectively unreasonable. Therefore the damages award was vacated and a new trial ordered.
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