Mass. couple wins $360K without lawyers but say flawed laws left no choice

For 7 years, a Western Massachusetts hilltown mates watched arsenic a neighbour chipped distant astatine their spot line. Trees were chopped down, onshore crossed without support and boundaries ignored.

The hubby and woman from Huntington said they felt powerless and yet sued their neighbour successful 2021, calling it their past edifice aft attempts to sermon the issues were met with vulgarities and instrumentality enforcement would not enforce “No Trespass” signs connected their property.

As the play unfolded this period astatine proceedings successful Hampshire County Superior Court, neither broadside could spend lawyers, and some sides stepped successful beforehand of a assemblage representing themselves, known arsenic pro se.

The determination by some sides to correspond themselves is portion of a increasing inclination crossed the country: much radical are choosing to spell to civilian tribunal without attorneys.

About three-quarters of each lawsuits present impact astatine slightest 1 broadside without a lawyer, according to the National Center for State Courts.

With each the complexities of a trial, adjacent nonrecreational attorneys indispensable deliberation rapidly connected their feet. This proceedings besides had its ain unexpected twists.

When an adept witnesser ran late, the husband, David Baillargeon, rapidly changed plans. In an unanticipated move, helium called his woman to the stand.

“Lori, bash you retrieve our archetypal brushwood [with the neighbor]?” helium asked his woman successful beforehand of the jury.

“I’m Mrs. Baillargeon to you close now, sir,” she quipped. David Baillargeon sounded amused and responded, “Thank you for correcting me.”

After a two-day proceedings that included 2 adept witnesses for the plaintiffs, a assemblage recovered successful favour of the Baillargeons, and the justice awarded triple damages, bringing their full reward to $360,451.

Even so, David Baillargeon hardly cracked a grin and gave a thumbs up aft the assemblage verdict came backmost astir 2 weeks ago.

But the occupation — opening with a not-so-friendly speech the archetypal clip the mates met the neighbour — mightiness ne'er person snowballed into an all-consuming lawsuit, they claim, if Massachusetts had stronger laws successful place. It’s a spread they anticipation volition beryllium closed for others successful the future.

A bumpy start

As the assemblage deliberated 2 weeks ago, the Baillargeons waited apprehensively extracurricular the courtroom astatine a tiny table. They were reluctant to sermon the lawsuit astatine first, but recalled with dense sighs each the hours, days, months and years devoted to resolving the intrusions onto their property.

“There are nary winners oregon losers successful civilian cases,” Lori Baillargeon, the wife, said. “It’s hard for everyone involved.”

David Baillargeon, 74, is simply a erstwhile deacon astatine Holy Family Parish and helium runs respective businesses successful Huntington with Lori Baillargeon, 70, including an antiques concern called “Swinging Bridge Auction.”

The mates began the litigation successful 2021, having hired an attorney, but the ineligible expenses rapidly added up, and they decided to instrumentality connected the lawsuit by themselves past fall.

“The lawsuit becomes a portion of your life,” David Baillargeon said. The mates has lived astatine their location since 1979. One of their businesses involves an aquaculture workplace successful a tiny pond connected their property. They merchantability 9-inch bait food astatine $9 a piece.

In a civilian ailment filed against their Thomas Road neighbor, Matthew Lennon, 42, the Baillargeons stated that helium encroached connected their spot and willfully destroyed their trees. He stored unwanted trailers connected their property, started unwanted bonfires connected their spot and harassed the couple, they wrote.

At trial, erstwhile David Baillargeon questioned his woman during nonstop examination, she recounted the archetypal clip they met Lennon connected an icy, acold February time successful 2018. They arrived location to observe a antheral parked connected their spot successful his truck, who they aboriginal learned was Lennon, and they walked up to present themselves.

When they got to the window, Lennon snapped astatine them, “Get the thing disconnected of my truck,” she said, avoiding the curse portion testifying. David Baillargeon attempted to shingle his manus and told him, “Let’s commencement over. I’m trying to springiness you immoderate accusation astir this property.”

“I don’t privation to speech to you, I cognize who you are. Get the eff away,” Lennon told the couple, according to Lori Baillargeon.

During the trial, Lennon confirmed helium purchased the spot for $15,500 successful February 2018. The spot was abandoned for six years earlier helium purchased it, but helium argued during the proceedings that helium simply wished to unrecorded successful the location with his family.

“I privation to beryllium near alone. I bought a location 1.5 miles successful the mediate of the woods disconnected a ungraded road, successful the forest, to unrecorded with maine and my lad truthful I could rise him,” Lennon said. “I person ne'er antagonized these people. They privation you to judge a full batch of curveballs that were thrown astatine maine that were not true. I didn’t bash immoderate of this.”

Lennon’s spot is astir 9,789 quadrate feet and is fundamentally an land surrounded by the couple’s 86 acres of wood successful Huntington. It tin lone beryllium accessed by bumpy, rocky ungraded roads owned by the Baillargeons and it’s much than a mile thrust from the municipality road.

The suit accused Lennon of trying to bargain onshore by distorting bound lines and taking possession of the Baillargeons’ onshore aft purchasing the property. The suit laid retired respective instances, including trees chopped down, removing trespass signs and throwing them successful their pond and driving an ATV connected their property.

Lennon could not beryllium reached for comment.

The Baillargeons contended successful the suit that the spot Lennon purchased was ne'er intended to beryllium a residence, but simply a “hunter’s camp.”

After respective confrontations — constabulary were called much than erstwhile — the mates decided they needed the tribunal progressive to enforce their nary trespass signs.

‘Forced into this’

Huntington is astir a 30-minute thrust westbound of Northampton and a municipality with a colonisation of a small much than 2,000.

The Westfield River runs done the Baillargeon spot and canoes paddle down during the yearly race.

Their immense spot is mostly woods and their location sits secluded amid rocky hills. The ungraded roads connected their spot tin beryllium traced backmost to the 1800s and the municipality voted to discontinue work respective years ago.

“We’ve ever liked small-town living,” Lori Baillargeon said.

At trial, David Baillargeon explained to jurors the hard presumption they were successful erstwhile it came to bringing the substance to court:

“We didn’t privation a lawsuit. We were forced into it. This is the past spot we wanted to be. Police would amusement up, helium would reason it’s his land, not his, and they’d say, well, it’s a civilian matter, you got to bring it to court. For that reason, you are each here.”

A week aft the assemblage verdict, the mates was inactive waiting connected a justice to regularisation connected an injunction to enforce its no-trespass bid and region encroachments connected its property. Lennon besides has 30 days to entreaty the result of the trial, according to the Baillargeons.

The mates said they would similar to spot changes to the enforcement of nary trespass laws successful Massachusetts. The maximum punishment for trespassing connected backstage spot is $100 and/or 30 days of imprisonment, according to authorities law.

“This does not support spot owners,” David Baillargeon said. “In different states ... there’d beryllium large trouble.”

The mates cited Maine arsenic having stricter no-trespass laws. In that state, a civilian usurpation tin effect successful a good betwixt $100 and $500. Three oregon much violations tin effect successful up to six months of incarceration and a $1,000 fine, according to Maine’s laws.

They anticipation to unrecorded semi-retired successful the adjacent future, and they are successful the process of moving their antiques concern into a caller space.

“Hopefully, we won’t brushwood immoderate much issues,” Lori Baillargeon said.

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