Haider v. Moen, 914 N.W.2d 520

Haider owned a homestead bordered by mature cottonwood trees; Moen, a neighbor/farmer, cut down 18 trees on Haider’s homestead while Haider was away and damaged an earthen dike.
Haider sued for wrongful injury to timber (and other claims), but only the timber claim proceeded to trial.
The jury found Moen wrongfully injured the trees, assessed actual damages at $40,500, and found Moen did not act under a belief the land belonged to him.
At trial the district court excluded a jury instruction explaining N.D.C.C. § 32-03-30’s treble-damages rule and prohibited argument about treble damages; the jury was therefore not informed that the statute generally trebles actual damages unless the trespasser believed the land was his.
The court admitted Haider’s tree expert testimony over Moen’s pretrial motion; Moen did not renew an objection at trial.
Judgment trebled the actual damages plus costs; Moen appealed arguing (1) the court abused its discretion by excluding the treble-damages instruction and forbidding argument, and (2) the court erred in admitting the expert’s testimony.

Issue	Haider's Argument	Moen's Argument	Held
Whether the court erred by excluding an instruction/argument explaining treble-damages under N.D.C.C. § 32-03-30	Instruction unnecessary; jury can decide actual damages and separate statutory multiplier can be applied by court	Jury should be told how its factual finding (belief land belonged to trespasser) affects treble damages; exclusion misleads jury	Reversed: exclusion was an abuse of discretion; jury must be informed (or trial bifurcated) and case remanded for new trial
Whether expert testimony from Haider’s tree appraiser was admissible	Expert was qualified and his modified valuation method assisted the jury	Expert not qualified; methodology improperly adjusted valuation formula	Affirmed: Moen waived appellate review by failing to renew objection at trial; court did not reach merits
Whether Moen preserved his evidentiary challenge on appeal	N/A	Failure to object at trial waives appellate review	Affirmed waiver; appellate court declined to address admissibility merits

Sollin v. Wangler, 627 N.W.2d 159 (N.D. 2001) (trial court should give an ultimate-outcome instruction in comparative-fault cases if it will not confuse the jury)
Wacker v. Mertz, 171 N.W. 830 (N.D. 1919) (trial court may either submit actual damages and malice to jury and award treble in verdict or require special finding and treble in judgment)
Linstrom v. Normile, 899 N.W.2d 287 (N.D. 2017) (failure to renew evidentiary objection at trial waives claim on appeal)