Evans v. Cote

Summary

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed an award of nominal damages, attorney’s fees, costs, and injunctive relief in an unlawful-mischief and trespass action involving a boundary dispute. The court held that Vermont’s unlawful-mischief statute permits attorney’s-fee recovery even when only nominal damages are awarded, and that the fee award need not be proportional to the damages if reasonable under the circumstances. The court also declined to review challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence because the defendant had not provided a trial transcript.

Holdings

1. The permanent injunction was proper because the trial court found past trespass and a substantial probability of future trespass, and damages were inadequate to address a continuing trespass.
2. The trial court's findings adequately established all elements of a violation of 13 V.S.A. § 3701(c), including intentional damage to plaintiff's property without a right or reasonable ground to believe defendant had a right.
3. Attorney's fees may be awarded under 13 V.S.A. § 3701(f) when the plaintiff proves that the statutory violation caused some damage, even if the amount of damages is minimal or nominal.
4. The attorney's-fee award was not an abuse of discretion merely because it greatly exceeded the $1 damages award.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the permanent injunction against defendant's continuing trespass was an abuse of discretion.
2. Whether the evidence supported the finding that defendant violated 13 V.S.A. § 3701(c).
3. Whether 13 V.S.A. § 3701(f) authorizes attorney's fees when the plaintiff recovers only nominal damages.
4. Whether the attorney's-fee award was unreasonable or an abuse of discretion because it was disproportionate to the $1 damages award.

Disposition

affirmed