New York men cut 4 trees on neighbour’s land, face $35,000 award

A property-line dispute in New York escalated into a court battle after two men entered a neighbour’s land and removed trees and vegetation despite being shown a survey identifying the disputed boundary. Nicholas Howard and Micah Geraghty were involved in the October 2021 incident in Columbia County, where four trees on Elaine Storms’ property were removed. Storms had previously shown the men a survey indicating where she believed the property line stood, and another neighbour later confirmed the same boundary. Despite that, the men returned about two weeks later and partially cleared the area. A jury initially awarded $55,000 in punitive damages, but the amount was later reduced and ultimately restored in part by an appeals court.New York's property-line dispute escalatesThe dispute began after Howard purchased property next to Storms’ land in June 2021. By October, the parties were arguing over the location of the boundary between the properties.