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Jacque v. Steenberg Homes, Inc.
Wisconsin Supreme Court (1997) | 563 N.W.2d 154; 209 Wis. 2d 605; 1997 Wisc. LEXIS 53
TL;DR: A company intentionally trespassed on private land after being denied permission. The court held that the landowners' fundamental right to exclude was violated, justifying a substantial punitive damages award even without any physical, compensatory harm to the property.
Legal Significance: Establishes that the right to exclude is a fundamental property right so significant that its intentional violation can support substantial punitive damages, even when the trespass results in only nominal damages. This affirms that the law protects the right itself, not just the physical land.