Billionaire Sued For Trespass After Inviting Fisherman to Catch Striped Bass on His LA Fishing Trip

A fisherman on his boat at Long Beach Harbor in Newport Coast, California. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user JT

Two people from Virginia—not to be confused with their state’s governor—have sued several families with property owned by billionaire Jim Casey, who owns 100,000 acres in western Idaho and whose properties own about 12,000 miles of waterway, many of which are located near Point Grey, Canada. Both parties say they have a right to enter Casey’s backyard in New Castle County, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife and six children. They want one of them shot dead for trespassing on his property.

Casey’s lawyers claim that his neighbor and friend Mark Dohr has trespassed onto Casey’s private property while fishing off the coast of Nova Scotia on a commercial trawl. And his attorney says Casey’s neighbor was fishing as Casey’s son, Michael Casey Jr., watched on nearby video cameras. “There is no dispute whatsoever that Mr. Casey uses the lands of the defendants to hunt, fish, enjoy the outdoors, and otherwise use the fields surrounding the defendant’s home,” lawyer Frank B. Blair says. He also adds that a hunter’s club exists next to Casey’s property.

In a brief response filed late last month, a judge denied most of the claims made by both sides but found that the plaintiffs had not shown a violation or trespass. There is now a deadline to appeal.

The case is brought now by two parents and three sons, ages 15, 11, 9, 7, 6, and 5, all of whom live in Western Canada. No lawyer can identify the men nor their mother nor what business they are engaged in. One father told Newsweek that one of the fishermen from Georgia and Florida brought him back to Newfoundland on July 1.

All four have gone to live and work in Newfoundland—which happens to be their parent’s current address—because they lost their homes in Hurricane Sandy. But after seeing their neighbors, they want to move here. It would give them more freedom than they have here. One child said his brother used to visit his cousin in Texas and watch James Casey on video cameras in the backyard. Another kid said James Casey posted updates about himself and his children on Facebook, so his parents contacted him there in September when it became clear his parents were planning to go north. Then, a few days after Thanksgiving, the boy who lived close to Maine and saw his parents on social media said Casey had sent a message to his mother via text. It said: Do you want me to call your parents from Florida? That weekend, he took a small plane and flew all the way north with the message to his mom. At first, her mother didn’t say much. We got married last year,” she responded. “I’ve been through this before. So if you want to see us again. Someone answered. And then, “Oh! Hey, Ms. Casey, we’re in town,” a woman replied. When they took out their phone, they noticed Casey’s name wasn’t listed and realized they had called the wrong number. “Jim Casey’s house is back on Main Street,” he wrote on Facebook. “The fence surrounding the house is closed. If you know what you’re doing, come inside. Don’t come back out. You can ask questions for yourself.” Two weekends later, Casey’s daughter told BuzzFeed News she’d visited him. As she walked up to the front porch, Casey gave her a tour of his mansion and asked where she wanted her Christmas decorations from. She replied: “I don’t need any of those.” Later that evening, Casey uploaded a picture of his bedroom to Instagram and wrote: “Happy new year, @brittanyx.” (The post included a gif of a penguin wearing “fishing boots” and its caption: “Happy new year, Brittany!!”.

“My understanding is that Mr. Casey’s daughter was asking permission to make a comment. Obviously, they never made anything,” Blaume says. “Mr. Casey wants what he wants. Whatever the terms were, the situation is how it is. That’s it When Dohr and his friend entered, “He did invite a person into the house, and then invited another person. They weren’t trespassing,” Blame says of the other man and the child who live there. “I think there was a simple misunderstanding. Maybe she felt like she was being treated like anyone.” He wonders whether Casey’s daughter thinks differently than her mother thinks now. “I doubt she knows what happened,” Blaume says. “I’m sure my daughter knows.”

When this story was published, Casey’s campaign responded to some of Newsweek's reporting, saying he paid the $1 million bond the night before the complaint was filed. (He hasn’t made the payments.) A court judge ordered Casey to pay a combined $14,000.09 a day until a decision comes. He is scheduled to face trial in early 2021. For now, lawyers for Dohr and Casey are still arguing that whether or not there should be charges if Dohr comes into contact with Casey’s son is irrelevant. The appeals court agreed.

“What kind of world can you build that doesn’t include people who are not going to respect the boundaries of a place? Or will somebody from Toronto, Ontario go there for a couple hours just to show up and make things uncomfortable for a family that lives in this area?” Blame asks his client. “I hope this story gets heard. We don’t deserve it. It shouldn’t happen. People shouldn’t be allowed to intrude into people’s property to fish or play. We’re all a part of society. No judge should be able to decide where we live. Nobody should have authority to dictate where we go.”