RE: Opinions please...
This is one ( if not the main ) reason you gotta get the contract in writing , a contract protects you and anybody else ( if a group ) and the owner as well.
Writen contracts can be very detailed and once both parties agree and sign it , it becomes a legal document.
The owner has a right to do whatever he wants to on his land and to let his family to use as well but for him and his family to use and distory your stands was bad judgment on his part.