When the jury told Mr. Madden he had to pay Mr. Shahi $500,000 for invasion of his privacy, $300,000 for cutting some of his trees, and $1,000,000 for punitive damages, he appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Mr. Madden didn't like his neighbors Mr. & Ms. Shahi because they weren't Christians. Mr. Madden's understanding of Christian values and ethics was somewhat flawed. Once, when the Shahis were away, he cut down a 100 year-old tree on the border between them. Shahi sued him and settled for $5,000. Then Madden dropped another tree across Shahi's driveway, and girdled about 30 more trees on Shahi's property. Shahi had the State's Attorney charge Madden with malicious mischief. In retaliation, Madden continued his missionary work by poisoning the Shahis' dog, "keying" their car, and littering their driveway with noxious things. The Shahis then filed this suit.

Madden's appeal claimed the $500,000 award for invasion of privacy was excessive. The Court, however, found that amount reasonable compensation for the systematic terrorism Mr. Madden engaged in, especially when it was motivated by sectarian and racial bias. Mr. Madden didn't do any better with the $300,000 for the trees. Vermont law permits an award of three times the value of trees illegally cut. Although each destroyed tree was not separately valued, a forester gave a detailed account of how to value most of the trees, which the Court found persuasive.

Mr. Madden's strongest attack was against the $1,000,000 punitive damage award. Punitive damages can only be awarded if the defendant acts outrageously, purposely and maliciously. He didn't dispute that. Instead, he pointed out there was no evidence of his net worth, so it was unfair of the jury to speculate he was wealthy. But the Court said Madden refused to answer questions about his net worth, so he couldn't complain. He then argued it was too high as being twice the damages for invasion of privacy. Not so, the Court ruled, it was well within reason to punish Mr. Madden for his actions, which were religiously and racially motivated, especially when it took three lawsuits to do so.

There is no way of knowing whether the Shahis will ever get anything near $1.8 million. However, I expect Mr. Madden's life from here on will be one of penance, as Shahi pounces on any assets he has, or ever gets. Maybe it will help him become a better Christian. In any event, we know what Vermont juries and Courts will do to religious terrorists. Shahi v. Madden 2008 Vt. 25.