SpaceX recently settled after Cards Against Humanity sued the company over a Texas land dispute. The high-profile case ended with SpaceX agreeing to pay a confidential settlement amount, but the dark-humor card game company told The RealDeal Real Estate News that if the case had gone to trial in November instead of ending in a settlement, it wouldn’t have recovered very much, even if it won the lawsuit.
This is especially true when one, relatively small, albeit popular private company, goes head-to-head with a massive private company with seemingly endless resources in comparison. But this shouldn’t lead the average Texas property owner to believe that they should settle outside of the courtroom on a property dispute that is important to them. Experienced land dispute lawyers evaluate the strength of a case, and when justice matters, litigation is absolutely possible.
We recently encountered a property owner with 20-acres of land who lost 15 centennial hardwood trees along their southern boundary to an overzealous logger. The owners were heartbroken over the loss of their trees. The trees were one of the primary reasons they purchased the property. Their property survey showed the trees more than 20 feet on their side of the property line. The logging company went onto their property, while cutting down trees on the neighbor’s land, and decimated the extraordinarily mature hardwood trees in a matter of hours one morning. The landowner’s wife sobbed at the property line just before noon looking at the felled trees she loved so much.
Initially, the owners felt that pursuing damages would not make them whole.
But as the shock faded, they realized that seeking compensation could:
- Cover replanting and restoration costs
- Hold the logger accountable
- Help prevent the same negligence from happening again
This is where having skilled land dispute lawyers truly matters.
Not All Land Dispute Lawyers Push Clients to Settle
Believing that all land dispute lawyers would force them to settle out of court, they opted to do nothing. They felt that there was nothing that could make them feel whole, no amount of money could undo the damage and bring those trees back, and if a settlement led to a meager monetary reward, it would feel even worse.
Later though, the homeowners realized that while nothing could bring those trees back, recovering a large sum of damages in court, could help them with their replanting expenses and send a message to the logger that could prevent him from making the same avoidable, negligent error in the future.
Unfortunately, seeing companies like SpaceX and Cards Against Humanity settle outside of court leaves normal property owners like our clients to believe that land dispute lawyers always push for settlement, never wanting to litigate in court.
Well, while that may be true with less skilled litigators, the land dispute lawyers at LloydWinter, P.C. aren’t afraid of taking the lawsuit into the courtroom. We have a reputation for winning cases in court because we are skilled, experienced litigators.
Fighting for Property Rights in Court
We understand that for many property owners, whether the land dispute is over property damage following a boundary dispute, easements, encroachments or any other land dispute, when it comes to infringement on their property, the lawsuit is actually about justice much more than the payout. We also understand that even if there is no way to make you whole after a property infringement, we can help you feel that justice has been served by fighting for you in court.
The Texas Supreme Court actually set a precedent regarding a case involving damages to trees on a person’s property. In an opinion delivered in May, 2024, homeowners were able to seek damages from the Texas Department of Transportation after a company it hired cut down 13 trees completely outside of the public easement on their property and seven trees that were partly outside of the public easement.
And while the Supreme Court of Texas wasn’t in the position to award damages, the decision did make one thing clear: Even the government must pay compensation to landowners when it intentionally cuts down trees, even if it was acting with the mistaken belief that it was legally allowed to.
Concerned About Legal Costs?
We understand that the cost of legal expenses can detract a person for suing over property disputes like encroachment, boundary lines, and easements, but if you have a case that is strong enough for a land dispute lawyer to take, chances are good that the land dispute lawyer expects to win. And when we win your case, we also ask the judge to make the other party pay your legal expenses too.
Do You Need Texas Land Dispute Lawyers Who Will Fight for You?
If you need a land dispute lawyer who won’t make you settle out of court and who isn’t afraid of litigating in front of a judge (and in some cases a judge and jury), contact LloydWinter, P.C. We won’t make you settle and we aren’t afraid of litigating your case.
Just because we’re known as civil litigation attorneys with compassion, doesn’t mean that we’re not aggressive. We understand that when you choose to sue for justice over a land dispute involving irreparable damage, nothing can make you whole. So, we will fight for the next best thing: Protecting your principles and getting you the maximum compensation allowed by law.
We are experienced civil litigation attorneys with practices in California and Texas. Contact us today to see how we can help you find justice in the face of your property dispute.
