Public record · updated as cases resolve

Recent tree law verdicts and settlements.

What courts, juries, and insurers are actually paying when someone cuts, poisons, or clears trees they don't own. Every entry links to its public source. Amounts are as reported; these are not TreeLawLeads cases.

$7.9Mreported across 16 resolved matters
$2.5Mlargest single resolution listed
11states represented
2–3×statutory multiplier in most states
$933,000
VERDICT

Jury awards $933,000 for nine mature trees cut while the owner was away

Bowie, Prince George's County, MD · · 9 mature trees, many over 30 in. diameter

A neighbor hired a tree service to remove nine large trees on the plaintiff's lot while she was out of town, leaving only a note in her mailbox. The neighbor settled before trial for $500,000 through his insurer; the jury then found the tree company liable for trespass and negligence, awarding $783,000 to restore the property (mature replacements run roughly $90,000 per tree) plus $150,000 in noneconomic damages. The award against the company was later reduced to $433,000 to account for the neighbor's settlement. Arborist Lew Bloch called it the largest tree-destruction verdict in Maryland history.

Defendant
Neighbor + Unlimbited Tree Service
Law
Trespass and negligence (Maryland)
largest in state historytree service liablerestoration cost

Disclaimer. TreeLawLeads was not involved in any matter listed and has no affiliation with the parties, counsel, or publications cited. Compiled from news reports, court opinions, and counsel announcements; figures are as reported by the linked source and may include settlements whose full terms are confidential, penalties assessed by governments, and claims still pending. None of these are TreeLawLeads matters. Not legal advice, and not a prediction of what any other case is worth; verify the controlling statute and current status before relying on any entry. Know of a resolution we're missing? Send us the source.

What these numbers have in common

Every large result above rests on the same three things we screen for before a case reaches a firm: a survey or record that fixes ownership, an arborist's per-tree valuation, and a statute that multiplies it. The defendants who pay most are contractors, developers, and neighbors acting through a crew — insured, and on the wrong side of a line they were told about.

Per-tree appraisal drives it

$90,000 per mature tree in Maryland; $95,000 for one coast live oak in Oakland. Multiply by the count.

Willfulness unlocks the multiplier

Warnings ignored, lines flagged, notes left in mailboxes — that record is what turns 1× into 3×.

Insurers write the checks

Tree services, landscapers, and developers carry liability coverage. Most of the settlements above were paid by a carrier.

Cases with this fact pattern are on the shelf now.

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