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Land Trespass

Land Trespass (Property · What's at Stake) — "The relevant facts follow. Plaintiffs, Lois and Harvey Jacques, are an elderly couple, now retired from farming,…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • Die Tatsachen betreffen den unbefugten Transport eines Mobilheims über das Grundstück der Jacques.
  • Lois und Harvey Jacques waren ein älteres, inzwischen im Ruhestand befindliches Farmerpaar und besaßen etwa 170 Acres bei Wilke’s Lake.
  • Steenberg Homes, Inc. verkaufte Mobilheime; die Lieferung war im Kaufpreis enthalten.
  • Steenberg plante, ein Mobilheim am 15. Februar 1994 zu einem Nachbargrundstück zu liefern.
  • Steenberg bevorzugte den Weg über das Land der Jacques, weil die alternative Privatstraße tief verschneit war und eine scharfe Kurve mit Rollen erforderte.
  • Die Jacques verweigerten Steenberg wiederholt die Erlaubnis; sie waren wegen eines früheren Verlusts von Eigentum durch adverse possession besonders vorsichtig.
  • Am Liefertag stellten die Jacques fest, dass der geplante Weg des Transportteams über ihr Grundstück führte.
  • Die Jacques wiesen anhand einer Luftaufnahme und eines Grundstücksplans ihr Eigentum nach und verlangten erneut, dass Steenberg die Straße benutze.
  • Die Aussagen darüber, ob der stellvertretende Manager den Transport trotz der Weigerung angeordnet hatte, waren umstritten.
  • Mitarbeiter sagten aus, der stellvertretende Manager habe ihnen befohlen, das Mobilheim auf irgendeine Weise dorthin zu bringen und den Weg zu blockieren.
  • Der stellvertretende Manager bestritt diese Anweisungen und erklärte, die Straße sei aus Sicherheitsgründen blockiert worden.
  • Die Mitarbeiter schnitten mit einem Bobcat einen Weg durch das verschneite Feld und zogen das Mobilheim ohne Erlaubnis über das Land der Jacques.
  • Nach der Entdeckung des Transports riefen die Jacques die Polizei; der stellvertretende Manager erhielt eine Geldstrafe von 30 Dollar.
  • Die Jacques erhoben vor dem Manitowoc County Circuit Court eine Klage wegen vorsätzlicher unerlaubter Handlung und verlangten kompensatorischen sowie Strafschadensersatz.
  • Der Prozess fand am 1. Dezember 1994 vor einer Jury statt; nach dem Vortrag der Jacques beantragte Steenberg einen directed verdict nach Wis. Stat. §.
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Land Trespass

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Property

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"The relevant facts follow. Plaintiffs, Lois and Harvey Jacques, are an elderly couple, now retired from farming, who own roughly 170 acres near Wilke’s Lake in the town of Schleswig. The defendant, Steenberg Homes, Inc. (Steenberg), is in the business of selling mobile homes. In the fall of 1993, a neighbor of the Jacques purchased a mobile home from Steenberg. Delivery of the mobile home was included in the sales price. Steenberg determined that the easiest route to deliver the mobile home was across the Jacques’ land. Steenberg preferred transporting the home across the Jacques’ land because the only alternative was a private road which was covered in up to seven feet of snow and contained a sharp curve which would require sets of “rollers” to be used when maneuvering the home around the curve. Steenberg asked the Jacques on several separate occasions whether it could move the home across the Jacques’ farm field. The Jacques refused. The Jacques were sensitive about allowing others on their land because they had lost property valued at over $10,000 to other neighbors in an adverse possession action in the mid-1980’s. Despite repeated refusals from the Jacques, Steenberg decided to sell the mobile home, which was to be used as a summer cottage, and delivered it on February 15, 1994. On the morning of delivery, Mr. Jacque observed the mobile home parked on the corner of the town road adjacent to his property. He decided to find out where the movers planned to take the home. The movers, who were Steenberg employees, showed Mr. Jacque the path they planned to take with the mobile home to reach the neighbor’s lot. The path cut across the Jacques’ land. Mr. Jacque informed the movers that it was the Jacques’ land they were planning to cross and that Steenberg did not have permission to cross their land. He told them that Steenberg had been refused permission to cross the Jacques’ land. One of Steenberg’s employees called the assistant manager, who then came out to the Jacques’ home. In the meantime, the Jacques called and asked some of their neighbors and the town chairman to come over immediately. Once everyone was present, the Jacques showed the assistant manager an aerial map and plat book of the township to prove their ownership of the land, and reiterated their demand that the home not be moved across their land. At that point, the assistant manager asked Mr. Jacque how much money it would take to get permission. Mr. Jacque responded that it was not a question of money; the Jacques just did not want Steenberg to cross their land. Mr. Jacque testified that he told Steenberg to “[F]ollow the road, that is what the road is for.” Steenberg employees left the meeting without permission to cross the land. At trial, one of Steenberg’s employees testified that, upon coming out of the Jacques’ home, the assistant manager stated: “I don’t give a — what [Mr. Jacque] said, just get the home in there any way you can.” The other Steenberg employee confirmed this testimony and further testified that the assistant manager told him to park the company truck in such a way that no one could get down the town road to see the route the employees were taking with the home. The assistant manager denied giving these instructions, and Steenberg argued that the road was blocked for safety reasons. The employees, after beginning down the private road, ultimately used a “bobcat” to cut a path through the Jacques’ snow-covered field and hauled the home across the Jacques’ land to the neighbor’s lot. One employee testified that upon returning to the office and informing the assistant manager that they had gone across the field, the assistant manager reacted by giggling and laughing. The other employee confirmed this testimony. The assistant manager disputed this testimony. When a neighbor informed the Jacques that Steenberg had, in fact, moved the mobile home across the Jacques’ land, Mr. Jacque called the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department. After interviewing the parties and observing the scene, an officer from the sheriff’s department issued a $30 citation to Steenberg’s assistant manager. The Jacques commenced an intentional tort action in Manitowoc County Circuit Court, Judge Allan J. Deehr presiding, seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Steenberg. The case was tried before a jury on December 1, 1994. At the completion of the Jacques’ case, Steenberg moved for a directed verdict under Wis. Stat. §"

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