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In the Shade of a Tree Page 7 <br /> <br /> <br />Reprinted by permission of Bench & Bar of Minnesota, Steve Pihlaja and Lorrie Stromme, March 2002 <br />negligence, the court held that the contractor knew or should have known the <br />consequences of mounding soil over tree roots. This case also set a new standard for <br />awarding damages in negligence cases. <br />Damages. In deciding how to compensate a property owner for damaged trees, <br />Minnesota courts have distinguished between ornamental trees and standing timber or <br />ill-formed trees. If trees that are ill-formed or serve merely to prevent erosion or curtail <br />noise are injured, the courts have based damages on diminution in land value, i.e., the <br />difference in the land value before the injury and afterward. If trees are primarily <br />ornamental or shade trees, the court has said that the jury may consider replacement <br />cost, to the extent that the cost is reasonable and practical, as an alternative measure of <br />damages. "Reasonable and practical" replacement cost has been defined as: <br />The cost to replace the number, size, and species of trees destroyed to <br />the extent that: 1) replacement serves to substantially restore the <br />character and quality of the property appropriate for the owner's <br />enjoyment and intended use and 2) the cost of replacement is not greatly <br />disproportionate to the resulting restoration of the owner's enjoyment and <br />intended use of the property.16 <br />Act of God. A frequently heard excuse is that damage caused by a fallen tree was an <br />act of God. Not every tree that falls over in a strong wind and causes damage is the <br />result of an act of God.17 To qualify as an act of God in negligence cases, all of the <br />following elements are needed: 1) the accident must have happened from a force of <br />nature that was both unexpected and unforeseeable; 2) that force must have been the <br />sole cause of the accident; and 3) the accident could not have been prevented by using <br />reasonable care.18 A bolt of lightning is an act of God, if it is the sole cause of an injury. <br />However, a person is liable if his own prior negligence combined with the act of God to <br />cause the injury. <br /> <br />Trespass and Wrongful Tre e Removal <br />