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Supreme Court, Richmond County, August 22, 2008
APPEARANCES OF COUNSEL
Law Offices of Howard M. File, P.C., Staten Island, for plaintiffs. Ameduri Galante & Friscia, Staten Island, for defendants.
{**21 Misc 3d at 555} OPINION OF THE COURT
Joseph J. Maltese, J.
At a bench trial this court was confronted with a variation of the philosophical question: "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it did it make a sound?" Here the court was presented with facts, which presented the question: "If trees are cut in a forest that were going to be removed anyway does the owner have compensable damages?" To the philosophical question, this court does not venture an opinion. But as to the second question, after a review of the facts and the governing law, this court finds that the damages were nominal and awards the plaintiffs $100 and trebles the award to $300 pursuant to Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law

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