My in laws' family has a corporation that deals in some land holdings
in Vermont. To make some cash they contracted with a logger in Vermont
to cut selected trees and be paid a certain sum per cut. The logging
operation was supposed to tag various trees that could not be cut due
to local regulations. The logger didn't do that and in fact cut those
trees. Turns out the logger has essentially stripped the land. The in
laws had planned on selling the property but now it's worth a lot less.
To make matters worse, the neighbors had prescriptive easements to
gain access to their properties. The loggers essentially ruined those
easements. The family lives in another state so they relied on the
word of the logger as to what was happening.
My questions are who is on the hook here. Is it the logger or the
family holding? Does the family have a cause of action against the
logger for breach of contract?
Yes.
And do the neighbors have possible
actions against either the logger
Yes, if you are right about the logger ruining the easement. I don't know
how an easement could be ruined, but if it has been, then sure, the
neighbors have a cause of action against the logger.
and/or family.
Probably not. Not unless the family has some obligation to protect the
easement from whatever damage was done.
McGyver
