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ARTICLE · 29 SEPTEMBER 2025

Punitive Damages Against Municipalities Don't Grow On Trees

Farrell Fritz
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Philosophers have often asked, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Earlier this year, in In the Matter of Rosbaugh v. Town of Lodi...

United StatesEnvironment
John C. Armentano
John C. Armentano

Philosophers have often asked, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Earlier this year, in In the Matter of Rosbaugh v. Town of Lodi, 2025 NY Slip Op 01406 (Mar. 13, 2025), the Court of Appeals was confronted with a slight variation of this age-old question: If trees are cut in a forest without their owners' consent by an overzealous tree service company, will the municipality that hired the company be subject to treble damages?

The court turned to the legislative history of New York's Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) §861, which stands for the general principle that treble damages were intended to be punitive in nature. As a result, treble damages authorized under RPAPL 861 were not available to the tree owners against the Town of Lodi, because the latter was immune from punitive damages under New York law.

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