Trespasser.....what would you do?

[Jstpssng]

So you abandon your land for 100 years. I go hunt it without permission, fall out of a tree stand, break my leg. I can sue you to pay for my medical and I will probably win, EVEN THOUGH I WAS TRESPASSING.

This is why you should post your land and keep any trespassers at bay.

As I have pointed out several times on this and other threads, many states have laws protecting the landowner from that scenario.

 

[tradosaurus]

U have to post no trespassing signs.

Why? I wouldn't go on someone's land without permission. It would be like having to put trespassing signs around your house.

 

[deezler]

Why? I wouldn't go on someone's land without permission. It would be like having to put trespassing signs around your house.

Not really. We have vast areas of Michigan that are state forest and national forest interspersed with private properties. You don't post your land, then it's actually rather reasonable to assume that the piece of unfenced, un-posted land you're hiking on is open for public use.

 

[tradosaurus]

I wouldn't approach hunters trespassing on my land unless I was armed. Your wife is "brave", as most women are, because they know someone else will fight their battles they start.
I disagree with the No trespassing signs but they are cheap enough to buy and post. Maybe even No Hunting signs.
It would be interesting if you could be liable for theft if they find out you took their deer stand? I hope not. If you sell it or destroy don't say anything about it to anyone.

 

[Agvg]

How can laws allowing someone to sue the landowner and win if they get hurt walking in nature? Why did things like this end up in the law and not in the trash can where it belongs?

 

[tradosaurus]

Have a guy at work who owns about 15 acres where his house is situated. He wondered if he had to shoot a trespasser if it would be better to dispose of them, Breaking Bad style, instead of reporting it and risking being prosecuted. I told him I hope he never had to find out.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

No. What I see is the fact that it is not my property, I have no permission to be there and in fact am violating the law being there. You realize that we pass laws saying x is illegal because as a society that is behavior we expect people not to engage in right? Its my property. If I want it to sit vacant that is my right. It is not your right to determine some accepable period of time has elapsed that you have not noticed me using it and decide to you use it yourself.

It is MY property, not yours... do you see the distinction?

As others have mentioned, trespass laws vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It's common almost everywhere that your back yard is private, and someone in your back yard is intruding. In the country, things are different. I am interested to see that Vermont, and apparently other states, have a "freedom to wander." I had never heard the term, but I'm familiar with the principle. Years ago, I lived on one side of some hills and my parents lived on the other side. It was 6 miles to their house by road, but only about 2.5 miles by foot over the hill. As long as I was passing through and did no damage, I was free to walk through intervening property. The only time I asked permission was to go through a wheat field instead of around it, because leaving a trail through the crop was unavoidable. The farmer felt the damage I would do on foot was trivial, and gave permission. Understand that "damage" includes things like stretching fence wire to climb through, or leaving a gate unsecured.

One of the advantages of my state's "No Hunting" signs is that it leaves the land open to free passage. If you sign it "No Hunting Or Trespassing," or just "No Trespassing," that notifies people to keep out. If things are different in Indiana, that's an Indiana thing.

 

[Macinnis]

As I have pointed out several times on this and other threads, many states have laws protecting the landowner from that scenario.

I sure wish my state did. I am currently paying additional insurance just to protect me from just such an incident.

it is weird though…it’s like having to pay for “uninsured drivers” thing on your auto insurance when it’s illegal to drive without insurance.

 

[bdhsfz6]

How can laws allowing someone to sue the landowner and win if they get hurt walking in nature? Why did things like this end up in the law and not in the trash can where it belongs?

We are a country full of lawyers.

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe the current owner will sell it to you, so you can legally walk your dog there.

He doesn't have to. Maine is a right to roam state.