Kallis

Defendants and appellants Aaron and Julie Sones share a property line with their neighbors, plaintiffs and respondents Stanley and Lucetta Kallis. The Soneses cut down a tree growing on the property line, and the Kallises sued. Following a bench trial, the trial court awarded a total of over $100,000 in damages to the Kallises.

The Soneses now appeal, contending that the trial court improperly failed to reduce damages to account for the fact that only a portion of the tree’s trunk was located on the Kallises’ side of the property line. We find that the trial court did not err by declining to reduce damages. In fashioning its award, the court could and did appropriately consider the tree’s unique characteristics and the great personal value it had to plaintiffs. We also find that the trial court properly doubled the amount of assessed damages pursuant to Civil Code section 3346, subdivision (a), which applies in cases of injury to trees. Accordingly, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

The Kallises and the Soneses own neighboring and coterminous lots in Los Angeles, where they each live. The Kallises acquired their property in 1955, and the Soneses acquired…