WWYD re: trespassers, probably neighbors

Cash the check! Then file in small claims. There is nothing in that keeps you from going for the rest of your claim just because you cashed a check.

The memo line on the check says "Apples for one Pie". BTW, I think she is lying about that.

I have a PrePaid Legal membership. I'll call them to discuss the matter, get advice on Monday.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

If it were me, I wouldn't be worrying so much about the money for the apples but to stop the trespassing. She's admitted she's trespassed..how about a restraining order keeping her from doing it again? No one really likes to have one of those on their record and then they will know you mean business.

I would get on the Sheriff to do something and then I would take her to small claims court and be sure and get some form of media involved. A Doctor stealing from a small farmer is guaranteed to attract attention from the news.

Apples for one pie? That's about 5 or 6 apples. Who is going to go through the trouble of hiking allll the way to the apples to only take 6?

I would probably get all my thoughts on paper before talking with a lawyer.
Something like this:

I'd make a copy of the letter she sent you. On the copy, put a line through her factual lies with a red pen, then the arguments based on those lies, put a line through them in black.

Based on the lies, you don't believe she only had 6 apples, you believe her tote was full of apples as well as any other things she was carrying.

Since she felt comfortable with those lies for so many years, you believe she shared that false information with the other 6 people (however many). Each of them also stole apples and trespassed. These friends of hers may have also passed on this false information to their friends as well and have trespassed and stolen apples.

Since she has used this false information since 200X, you believe her and 6 people have stolen from you each year since you've owned the farm.

Pick more exacting amounts.
She stole 1/2 bushel of apples for the past say, 10 years. (?number of years) She brought 6 people with her doing the same.
1/2 bushel X 10 years X 7 people = 35 bushels of apples. You want payment for them and interest payments for years 1 - 9.

(you know the judge or mediator will give in to each side)

If it is a farm, can you prove it is a farm? Do you have the statute about damages being 4 times the amount?

What do you have proof of?
Admission of trespassing, stealing, false information.

In as much as you just want to get along, and you don't want to punish severely, the only thing a lawyer or court care about is the $$ with regard to the missing apples.

Ask the court through the attorney, to charge the defendant for all filing fees and your costs to bring it to court. You probably won't get it, but ask anyways.

She admits in the letter that she knows the camp sold the ranch in 1994 or whenever. She's a doctor, she can read a no trespassing sign and she also should know that the state of CA would be the owner on the sign if they owned the land. She could have asked you if she wanted to be sure that you owned the land or checked the tax records. It's a small town, she knows you have a u-pick orchard She decided to steal and to encourage others to as well. She's nothing but a common thief, who thinks she can do as she wants. I am sure she can afford to buy apples if she wants them. I bet she did not think the church\camp should sell the land and decided to ignore the sale for some reason.

I'm surprised the Seventh Day Adventist church hasn't done something about the camp supervisors allowing her and others to do this, although they still may. A lot of people have read this thread, and wonder what kind of church would condone this type of behavior. Not good publicity for the Seventh Day Adventist church either.

Molly, I'm also sure that most of the trespassers at the ranch that came from the church camp feel that the ranch shouldn't have been sold. And that is why they have continued to treat it as their own.

Edited to add; this was especially the case with the camp manager who used to send camp visitors to hike to our place, long after they had sold it, and despite my requests that he stop. He had spent his formative years there when our ranch was a Boy Scout camp. He lived there with the camp ranger. He always thought if it as home.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

You guys who want to hire lawyers and get restraining orders and such, certainly do not have a problem spending the OP's money.

Small Claims COurt is a lot of trouble for those who don't know the process, but it is a valid and affordable approach that does not require a lawyer. Depending on the rules within that state, the loser usually pays court costs. The trouble will be proving damages. Speculating that the doc has done this for years will most likely not mean anything in court. It is only what you can prove. Seeing bulging backpacks, the judge may decide they were full of apples, but he might only decide that the 6 the woman admitted to was the total damages she is responsible for. I think it applies in small claims, the judge can say that the doc is responsible for the total damages of all the trespassing pickers which would be the ideal outcome. You just don't know if you are going to get a judge who follows the absolute letter of the law or one who gets aggravated by rather stupid excuses of the doc.

In Florida there is a mandatory attempt at arbitration, but both parties have to agree to a settlement or it goes back into court.

There is probably legal action to take against the neighboring church camp, but that will surely require a lawyer. I don't know if a few dozen pounds of apples is worth the cost. I know I would want to fight this thing with all guns a blazing, but the OP has to weigh the financial costs.

I used to go to small claims court for the doctor I worked for sometimes. We always got what we asked for, he only went after people who could pay but would not, however getting the money you are awarded is not always easy.

If you return the check, make sure she has to sign for it so she can't claim you never returned it.

If I return the check, it would be with a return receipt requested letter. I'll talk to PrePaid Legal today or tomorrow to see what they say about how best to handle the check issue.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

Except nothing but your full request. If she isn't willing within a required time tell she can talk to your lawyer and possibly a judge. Make sure you carry through.

Don't dialog about the issues she made except to say private property isn't public national forest and you hold title/deed to the property.

Yep tell her it will be her job to prove otherwise ,and you are willing to give her a chance to tell it to the judge . Charge her with everything in the book for starters ,trespassing ,trespassing with intent to commit a theft and theft .Sign a warrant for her arrest before the statute of limitation runs out

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Check it Out O added another Plank With O care
http://www.libertyzone.com/Communist...to-Planks.html

When I first got the doc's name, I looked her up. I found her Facebook page, which is set to public. I took screen shots of pictures that were taken of the group on the same day that they came to my ranch. All wearing the same clothes as in my trail cam pictures, except the little girl changed into long pants for the hike.

The pictures mysteriously disappeared after she received my letter. Funny about that.

Her letter informed me that there were two more people that she brought to the ranch that day than I was previously aware of. The trail cam takes pictures every few seconds. The two others must have made it past the cameras. Between shots. However one of the pictures from her Facebook page has three kids. The little girl, and two teenage looking boys. She mentioned three kids in her letter. So I'm assuming that the two teenagers were the other kids.

As for the suggestions that I contact the medical board, I don't want to do that. I have no desire to be punitive and reduce her ability to earn a living. I really want to be compensated for my losses and the time and expense I've put into this. And if she has to go through the embarrassment trouble and expense, hopefully, this will be a learning moment for her.

As for the Sheriff, he seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. I haven't heard back. I don't want to be too much of a pain because I might need him in the future for something really big. It is clear that he doesn't understand what it means to a small farmer when someone steals your crop.

It is much different when you have a small window of opportunity each year to sell your crop and make some money from a year's worth of work. In my case, the crop is apples. If someone were to walk into a chain grocery store and take the same amount of apples and walk out without paying, of course the police would come, and make the arrest. And the store would go into the cold storage and wheel out more apples to replace the ones that were stolen. Those apples almost certainly have pesticides. They may be pretty on the outside, but you bite into a mouth full of mush, because they have been sitting in cold storage for the last two years. They may be from Chile, or China.

I don't offer any of that. My apples are completely organic, delicious. You don't have to wonder what you are getting, because you pick it fresh from the tree yourself. Agritourism at its finest. When someone steals from me, the apples won't be replaced until the following year. So when the opportunity avails itself, I will have this discussion with the Sheriff. Hopefully he will be more responsive to myself and other farmers and ranchers in the future.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

You seem to be quite non-confrontational about this. That is certainly your right. One of my sister's ex-boyfriends broke into my car and stole a bunch of items from me in the past. I knew right away it was him because of the items.

I hounded the police daily until they made an arrest and hounded the magistrate until they collected the restitution. Those people are collecting fat salaries, benefits, and pensions at my expense so they are gonna do their job! This was over about $100.

I don't think you have the desire to doggedly pursue this until the end. Instead, I'd recommend you take out an advertisement in the local paper. Use one of your trailcam pics as the background and put type over it that says, "(Your farm name) is private property and has been since (year you bought it). We're open for business but tress passing and theft will not be tolerated"

End of story.

PS. No offense meant.

This isn't just a letter writing campaign. If the doc doesn't pay up willingly, I will take her to small claims court.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor too?

I just heard back from the lawyer. He said that she has admitted to doing this for years. File small claims, have her served. Don't cash the check. Take it to court with me.

So that's what I am going to do.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye

Three minors.

__________________
I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.

Popeye