CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Wheeling man is suing Appalachian Power Company for trespassing and property damage, according to a story reported by West Virginia Record.

The defendants in the case are American Electric Power Service Corporation, Phillips & Jordan Environmental Services, Phillips & Jordan, and Phillips & Jordan Holding.

The plaintiff, Jay Folse, who is representing himself, says in the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, that he heard chainsaw noises on his property in late January. Upon searching his land he saw two men cutting down trees.

The men were wearing clothing that identified themselves as employees of Phillips & Kordan (defendants in the case) and that they had been contracted through AEP and ApCo to timber the land for the installation of high voltage transmission wires.

According to the complaint, the employees told Folse that they knew they did not have permission to enter the marked property, but were told to work the land anyway.

Folse claims that when he spoke to a representative at ApCo he was told that he didn’t own the land and that the true land owner, William Turner, had given the company an easement to timber the land.

Upon further research, Folse discovered that although Turner had purchased the land from the previous owner, it was not until after Folse purchased the land in a tax sale, and then the deed was recorded as Folse being the owner.

Folse is now seeking compensatory damages.

This is an ongoing case, follow 7News for the outcome.