Uh, here in cowboy land, we have decisions made everyday in terms of failing to mitigate damages. It's general law, not tree specific, but does certainly apply
MITIGATE DAMAGES - Taking action to avoid or reduce damages.
A person who claims damages as a result of an alleged wrongful act on the part of another has a duty under the law to "mitigate" those damages; that is, to take advantage of any reasonable opportunity he may have had under the circumstances to reduce or minimize the loss or damage.
Personal Injury - Property Damage - General Property Damage Questions
Question 4 of 11
What is the ‘duty to mitigate damages?’
A person is not allowed to stand by idle and watch further harm come to his/her property. Everyone must use reasonable care and diligence to minimize the damages - to do what s/he can to prevent additional damage. An injured party must make a reasonable effort or expend reasonable costs to prevent the amount of loss or harm from increasing. If constant rain is raising the level of a lake next to your home, you have the responsibility to take steps to prevent damage from flood which is about to occur, such as moving property to higher ground or putting out sand bags to prevent water from entering your home. The particular acts required by a person to mitigate damages is determined on a case-by-case basis, it is set as what is "reasonable" under the particular circumstances.
These quotes were from the first couple of hits on a google search query "mitigate damages"
