[§141-8]  Crop damage; civil liability. 
(a)  Any person who wilfully or knowingly damages or destroys any crop,
including silvicultural crops or agricultural commodities as defined in section
145-21, that is known by the person to be intended for personal or commercial
purposes, or for research and development purposes by any private or public
research facility, federal, state, or local government agency, or university
shall be liable for twice the value of the crop or commodity damaged or
destroyed.



(b)  Damages available under this section shall
be limited to twice the market value of the crop or commodity and the
production, research, testing, replacement, and crop or commodity development
costs directly related to the damaged or destroyed crop or commodity.



(c)  Rights and remedies under this section are
in addition to any other rights or remedies otherwise available or penalties
that may otherwise be imposed. [L 2001, c 298, §1]