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California Civil Code Section 3346

Legal Research Home > California Lawyer > Civil Code > California Civil Code Section 3346

(a) For wrongful injuries to timber, trees, or underwood upon
the land of another, or removal thereof, the measure of damages is
three times such sum as would compensate for the actual detriment,
except that where the trespass was casual or involuntary, or that the
defendant in any action brought under this section had probable
cause to believe that the land on which the trespass was committed
was his own or the land of the person in whose service or by whose
direction the act was done, the measure of damages shall be twice the
sum as would compensate for the actual detriment, and excepting
further that where the wood was taken by the authority of highway
officers for the purpose of repairing a public highway or bridge upon
the land or adjoining it, in which case judgment shall only be given
in a sum equal to the actual detriment.
   (b) The measure of damages to be assessed against a defendant for
any trespass committed while acting in reliance upon a survey of
boundary lines which improperly fixes the location of a boundary
line, shall be the actual detriment incurred if both of the following
conditions exist:
   (1) The trespass was committed by a defendant who either himself
procured, or whose principal, lessor, or immediate predecessor in
title procured the survey to be made; and
   (2) The survey was made by a person licensed under the laws of
this State to practice land surveying.
   (c) Any action for the damages specified by subdivisions (a) and
(b) of this section must be commenced within five years from the date
of the trespass.

Last modified: January 12, 2009