AN elderly couple has won $360,000 from their neighbor after a 7-year battle over their property line – and they did it without an attorney.
The couple insisted they were forced to sue their neighbor after cops refused to enforce the law.
David Baillargeon, 74, and his wife Lori, 70, have lived on their 86-acre property since 1979, MassLive reported.
The secluded property sits on rocky hills and dates back to the 1800s.
But their peaceful existence was shattered in 2018, when Matthew Lennon, 42, bought 9,789 square feet of property for $15,500.
His parcel was likened to an island with a small cabin on it in the middle of the couple’s 86 acres of trees.
It’s accessed by bumpy dirt roads owned by the Baillargeons.
The Baillargeons said at trial that they came home one day to find Lennon parked on their property and tried to introduce themselves.
They claim Lennon snapped, “Get the something off of my truck.”
“I don’t want to talk to you, I know who you are. Get the eff away,” he told the couple, according to Lori.
Throughout the next several years, Lennon twisted the boundaries – even going as far as claiming ownership of the Baillargeons’ land and cutting down their trees, according to the Baillargeons’ legal claim.
He lashed out at their no trespassing signs – throwing them in a pond – and drove an ATV through their property.
Fed up, the Baillargeons called the police multiple times and began litigation in 2021.
They said they repeatedly asked law enforcement to intervene – pointing to the no trespassing signs on their property – but cops didn’t help.
“We didn’t want a lawsuit. We were forced into it,” David said in court.
“This is the last place we ever imagined ourselves to be. Whenever law enforcement was called, he would assert that the property was his, not ours, and they would respond, ‘It’s a civil dispute, you’ll have to bring this to court.’ That is why all of you are present here today.”
Lennon told a different story, insisting he just wanted to be left alone.
“I purchased a home 1.5 miles deep in the heart of the woods, situated on a dirt road, surrounded by the forest, to create a home for my son and myself,” Lennon explained during the court proceedings.
“I have never antagonized these people. They want you to believe a whole lot of curveballs that were thrown at me that were not true. I didn’t do any of this.”
In their lawsuit, the Baillargeons stated the property was meant to be a “hunter’s cabin,” not a permanent residence.
After a two-day trial, the jury voted in favor of the Baillargeons and the judge awarded them triple the damages.
The couple walked away with a $360,451 payday.
Massachusettes trespassing law
In Massachusetts, the crime of trespassing involves legal penalties that include the potential of up to 30 days in jail, probation, restitution, fines, and fees, as well as other collateral consequences for a convicted defendant, such as the loss of certain licenses and employment.
In order to prove that the defendant is guilty of trespassing, the prosecutor must prove:
- That the defendant entered or remained in a dwelling, house, building, boat, enclosed land or any other property;
- The defendant was forbidden to enter or to remain there by the person in lawful control of the premises, either directly or by means of a posted notice.
“There are no winners or losers in civil cases,” Lori said.
“It’s difficult for everyone involved.”
Lennon has 30 days to appeal the trial’s outcome.
The couple is pushing for the state to make no trespassing rules stricter and protect property owners.
In Massachusetts, the maximum penalty for trespassing on private property is $100 and/or 30 days of imprisonment.
“This does not protect property owners,” David Baillargeon said.
The couple told Mass Live they hope to live a semi-retired life following the long litigation.
“Hopefully, we won’t encounter any more issues,” Lori said.
