Court Opinion

ID: 9548209
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:59:43.235975+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:18:38.392662
License: Public Domain

Weaver, J.
(dissenting)—I agree with the view that the doctrine of exemplary or punitive damages is unsound in principle, and that such damages cannot be recovered except when explicitly allowed by statute. However, the principle that the law will not permit a willful wrongdoer to benefit by his wrongful act is of equal dignity. In a sense, this may be said to be punitive if one is considering only the position of a person caught appropriating property of others; but, to my mind, there is an additional consideration.
That a willful wrongdoer cannot benefit by his wrongful act is based upon the theory, not of punishing the wrongdoer, but of recognizing the right of the true owner to his *892property, especially when found in the possession of another.
Under the majority opinion, all that one has to do to force an owner to “sell” his property is to use a compass and a piece of rope in a casual and amateur manner.
It is not for this court to hold that when one purchases timber in unmarked territory it must be surveyed by a licensed or qualified surveyor. It is sufficient to say: One must use such means as may reasonably be expected under the circumstances to segregate his property from that of another, in order that it may be said he acted in good faith: If the circumstances require a survey, then so be it.
The action of the loggers in the instant case was so wantonly negligent in its disregard of the property rights of others, that the conversion was mala fides.
In my opinion, the judgment of the trial court should be affirmed.
Mallery and Hill, JJ., concur with Weaver, J.