477.068
Liability for cost of abatement; interest; lien; foreclosure; attorney fees. (1) In case an owner or operator
fails to perform the duty required by ORS 477.066, or is willful, malicious or
negligent in the origin or subsequent spread of the fire, the actual cost
incurred by the forester or a forest protective association or agency in
controlling or extinguishing the fire shall be paid by the owner or operator
within 90 days after the date on which the first written demand for payment of
the actual cost is mailed by the State Forester to the owner or operator. If
the actual cost is not paid within such 90-day period, such amount shall bear
interest at 10 percent per year from the date on which the first written demand
for the payment of the actual costs was mailed by the State Forester and the
actual cost together with such interest may be recovered from such owner or
operator by an action prosecuted in the name of the State of Oregon, or such
forest protective association or agency, or both.
(2) An itemized
statement of the actual cost incurred by the forester or association or agency,
or both, certified to by the forester, shall be accepted as prima facie
evidence of the actual cost in any proceeding authorized by this section.
(3) The actual
cost in cases covered by ORS 477.066 shall constitute a general lien upon the
real and personal property of such owner or operator. A written notice of the
lien, containing a description of the property and a statement of the actual
cost, shall be certified under oath by the forester or any warden and filed in
the office of the county clerk of the county in which the lands and personal
property are situated within 12 months after the calendar year within which the
fire originated, and may be foreclosed in the manner provided by law for
foreclosure of liens for labor and material. In any proceeding to foreclose a
lien created under this subsection, recovery for the plaintiff shall include,
in addition to the amount of the actual cost, interest on such amount at the
rate of 10 percent per year from the date of the filing of the written notice
of the lien.
(4) Upon request
of the forester, the district attorney for the district in which the lands and
personal property are situated or the Attorney General shall prosecute such
action or foreclose the lien in the name of the State of Oregon or such forest
protective association or agency, or both. Liens provided for in this section
shall cease to exist unless suit for foreclosure is instituted within 12 months
from the date of filing under subsection (3) of this section.
(5) In any action
under subsection (1) of this section to recover actual cost and in any
proceeding to foreclose any lien created by subsection (3) of this section, the
court shall award, in addition to costs and disbursements, reasonable attorney
fees at trial and on appeal to the prevailing party. [Formerly 477.038; 1955
c.218 §1; 1959 c.363 §6; 1961 c.603 §8; 1965 c.253 §53; 1965 c.428 §§11,12;
1973 c.66 §1; 1981 c.897 §54; 1983 c.22 §3; 1983 c.27 §1; 1997 c.206 §1]
Notes of Decisions
State, by & Through St. Forester v. Estremado, 609 P.2d 893 (Or. Ct. App. 1980).
· cites it 3× “) Subsection (1) of ORS 477.068 renders those who do not make "every reasonable effort” to fight a fire liable for the actual cost of controlling or extinguishing the fire.”
Henderson v. Nielsen, 871 P.2d 495 (Or. Ct. App. 1994).
· cites it 3× “064 is for the cost of abating the nuisance, as provided in ORS 477.068. Defendant is correct that an “owner” or “operator,” as those terms are defined in ORS 477.”
Am. Econ. Ins. Co. v. Commons, 552 P.2d 612 (Or. Ct. App. 1976).
“The state then brought an action under ORS 477.068 to recover its costs of fighting the fire from Tom and Joyce Commons.”
State Forester v. Obrist, 390 P.2d 333 (Or. 1964).
· cites it 2× “” The complaint contains no allegation or facts supporting a theory that defendant is an owner, easement holder, operator or person in possession and that as such he is liable under ORS 477.068. When a cause of action rests upon a statutory duty imposed upon a class of persons…”
State v. California Oregon Power Co., 358 P.2d 524 (Or. 1961).
“This is intended to bring the cause within ORS 477.068. It will be noted that this section imposes the statutory liability to pay for the cost of suppression only upon the “owner, operator and person in possession.”
State ex rel. Dep't of Forestry v. Louisiana Pac. Corp., 999 P.2d 487 (Or. Ct. App. 2000).
· cites it 5× “120(2) (1995). In its operative first amended complaint, the Department asserted that LP was liable for the suppression costs on either of two alternative grounds: (1) LP was negligent in the “origin or spread” of the fire, ORS 477.”
State ex rel. Dep't of Forestry v. Louisiana-Pac. Corp., 941 P.2d 1052 (Or. Ct. App. 1997).
· cites it 2× “066 or ORS 477.068 if (1) forest patrol assessments are regularly paid for the forestland, or (2) the forestland is protected by membership in an active forest protective association under ORS 477.”
State v. Columbia Basin Elec. Co-op, Inc., 655 P.2d 1053 (Or. 1982).
· cites it 2× “2 ORS 477.068 imposes liability on an owner/operator to repay the state forester the cost of fire suppression if it has not made the effort required by ORS 477.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 477.068(1) — 5 cases
State, by & Through St. Forester v. Estremado, 609 P.2d 893 (Or. Ct. App. 1980).
“) Subsection (1) of ORS 477.068 renders those who do not make "every reasonable effort” to fight a fire liable for the actual cost of controlling or extinguishing the fire.”
State ex rel. Dep't of Forestry v. Louisiana Pac. Corp., 999 P.2d 487 (Or. Ct. App. 2000).
“120(2) (1995). In its operative first amended complaint, the Department asserted that LP was liable for the suppression costs on either of two alternative grounds: (1) LP was negligent in the “origin or spread” of the fire, ORS 477.”
State ex rel. Dep't of Forestry v. Louisiana-Pac. Corp., 941 P.2d 1052 (Or. Ct. App. 1997).
“066 or ORS 477.068 if (1) forest patrol assessments are regularly paid for the forestland, or (2) the forestland is protected by membership in an active forest protective association under ORS 477.”
State v. Columbia Basin Elec. Co-op, Inc., 655 P.2d 1053 (Or. 1982).
“2 ORS 477.068 imposes liability on an owner/operator to repay the state forester the cost of fire suppression if it has not made the effort required by ORS 477.”
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