Property Damage Lawyer in Minneapolis & Saint Paul, MN

1st Degree Damage to Property (Minn. Stat. § 609.595, Subdivision 1)

Whoever intentionally causes damage to physical property of another without consent and:

• the damage to the property caused a reasonably foreseeable risk of bodily harm;
• the property damaged belongs to a common carrier and the damage impairs the service to the public rendered by the carrier;
• the damage reduces the value of the property by more than $1,000 measured by the cost of repair and replacement; or
• the damage reduces the value of the property by more than $500 measured by the cost of repair and replacement and the defendant has been convicted within the preceding three years of an offense under this subdivision or subdivision 2 commits first-degree damage to property.

2nd Degree Damage to Property (Minn. Stat. § 609.595, Subdivision 1a)

Whoever intentionally causes damage to another person’s physical property (without the other person’s consent) because of the property owner’s or another’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, or national origin and:

• the building is a dwelling;
• the portion of the building entered contains a pharmacy or other lawful business or practice in which controlled substances are routinely held or stored, and the entry is forcible; or
• when entering or while in the building, the burglar possesses a tool to gain access to money or property. Commits second-degree damage to property.

3rd Degree Damage to Property (Minn. Stat. § 609.595, Subdivision 2)

Whoever intentionally causes damage to another person’s physical property without the other person’s consent may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both, if the damage reduces the value of the property by more than $500 but not more than $1,000 as measured by the cost of repair and replacement.

4th Degree Damage to Property (Minn. Stat. § 609.595, Subdivision 3)

Whoever intentionally causes damage described in subdivision 2 under any other circumstances is guilty of a misdemeanor.

If I damage property on more than one occasion or more than one item can the values be added up or aggregated?

In any prosecution under clause (3), the value of any property damaged by the defendant in violation of that clause within any six-month period may be aggregated and the defendant charged accordingly; provided that when two or more offenses are committed by the same person in two or more counties, the accused may be prosecuted in any county in which one of the offenses was committed for all of the offenses aggregated under this paragraph.