Payne Logging LLC lost its appeal, cementing a $41,920 liability for destroying 1,299 trees on Gerald and Rhonda Smith’s land. The Court of Appeals of Mississippi issued its decision on October 7, 2025, rejecting the logging firm’s arguments that the Smiths' evidence was flawed. The ruling stands as a firm defense of property rights in rural timber disputes.
The chaos began in 2022. Robert and Joyce Hesters hired Payne Logging to clear a route between their two parcels. Instead, the crew cut a diagonal road straight through the Smiths' 36.5 acres. Gerald Smith testified he had explicitly warned Jon Payne—the company owner—about the boundary lines. Payne claimed he knew where the line was. He was wrong by as much as 180 feet.
Rhonda Smith discovered the widened trail on August 11, 2022. What should have been a narrow path for a four-wheeler had become a commercial logging road. The couple began counting stumps. They measured every cut tree, recording diameters in handwritten logs. The final tally: 1,299 trees. Of those, 466 were large timber, seven inches or more in diameter. The rest were smaller underbrush.
Payne Logging argued the Smiths measured incorrectly because they couldn't measure standing trunks. The court disagreed. Certified surveyor J.T. Strickland confirmed the true boundary, proving 4.62 acres of timber vanished. The appellate judges noted that logging continued even after the correct line was identified. That recklessness triggered Mississippi’s timber-trespass statute, turning the loss into a punitive award rather than just a reimbursement for wood value.
The $41,920 verdict breaks down to statutory penalties. The Smiths collected $25,630 for the 466 large trees and $8,330 for the 833 smaller ones. The court found the cutting was willful. No further appeal is pending. The money is owed.