Any person who cuts down or carries off any wood or underwood, tree, or timber, or girdles or otherwise injures any tree or timber on the land of another person, or on the street or highway in front of any person's house, village, or city lot, or cultivated grounds; or on the commons or public grounds of any city or town, or on the street or highway in front thereof, without lawful authority, is liable to the owner of such land, or to such city or town, for treble the amount of damages which may be assessed therefor, in a civil action, in any Court having jurisdiction.
§ 733.Injuries to Trees Or Timber
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 2. Actions for Nuisance, Waste, and Willful Trespass, in Certain Cases, on Real Property · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 733 makes anyone who cuts, carries off, girdles, or otherwise injures wood, underwood, trees, or timber on another's land, street frontage, or public grounds without lawful authority liable to the landowner or municipality for treble damages in a civil action.
Full Text of § 733
Plain-English Summary
This is one of California's most cited timber-trespass statutes. It reaches anyone who, without lawful authority, cuts down or carries off wood, underwood, a tree, or timber, or girdles or otherwise injures a tree or timber — whether on another person's land, on the street or highway fronting someone's house, village or city lot, or cultivated grounds, or on the commons or public grounds of a city or town (or the street or highway fronting those public grounds).
The remedy is treble damages: the wrongdoer is liable to the landowner, or to the city or town, for three times the amount of damages a civil action assesses. The severity of that multiplier is tempered somewhat by § 734, which limits recovery for timber taken from uncultivated woodland to repair a public highway or bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What conduct triggers liability under § 733?
Cutting down or carrying off wood, underwood, a tree, or timber, or girdling or otherwise injuring a tree or timber, on another's land or on specified public or street-fronting property, without lawful authority.
What damages can a landowner recover under this section?
Treble damages — three times the amount assessed as actual damages — in a civil action in any court with jurisdiction.
Does this section apply to injuries on public land?
Yes, it extends to the commons or public grounds of a city or town, and the street or highway fronting them, when a city or town is the injured party.
Is there any limit on the treble damages available under § 733?
Yes. Section 734 limits recovery to the just value of timber taken from uncultivated woodland used to repair a public highway or bridge on or adjoining the land.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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