Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C. Successful in Civil Case

Facts: This cause of action arose out of a property dispute in rural Macon County, Missouri and involved the ownership of property and the right to use a roadway as well as the ownership of a wedge-shaped parcel of unimproved land at the eastern edge of plaintiffs’ property and western edge of defendants’ property. Both parties claimed ownership of the property at issue and filed suits and counter-suits against each other for adverse possession, injunction, establishment of easements by implication, prescription, dedication, and necessity. Defendants also filed additional claims for damages against plaintiffs alleging common law and statutory trespass related to the taking and destruction of property, including bulldozing of trees and brush on a section of the disputed property. Defendants’ claims include damages for the cost to restore the property and the value of the lost timber, as well as treble damages provided by Missouri statute, all of which was in excess of $31,000. Defendants’ also claimed they were entitled to attorney’s fees in an undisclosed amount. During the second day of trial, the parties agreed to settle the case and enter Judgment to memorialize the settlement. The Judgment included a split of the property with specific identification of the relevant boundary lines. Defendants also agreed to pay plaintiffs (including our clients) the sum total of $10,000.