Dispute with Neighbor on the Horizon

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

Sound advice.

If you contact the police now, they will have a complaint on record if something does happen. That will establish that they threatened you prior to action. Even better would be if the local cops would have a talk with said neighbor, that might be enough. Letter from lawyer and insurance are great ideas too.

If they persist, run a hose into their crawlspace.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

One day I came home to find that my neigbors had cut down two of my trees, without notice.

In their defense, they are incredibly stupid. I had put up the fence because of ongoing issues with them. I explained to them that it was 3' inside my line, but the concept was lost on them and they cut down 2 trees that were 1' on their side of the fence.

I was furious, and called my Lawyer/Father In Law. He drafted up a letter explaining the clear consequences of any such action.

1) They are not to cut down any trees or even trim branches
2) If they do cut down trees or trim branches, the police will be called
3) Any damage done to my trees will be addressed in court, and full compensation will be sought. Replacement of a 40' maple can be done, at a cost of ~10-25k.

On my Lawyer/Father In Law's advice, I went over and explained this to them very clearly, firmly and politely. Then, a couple days later he sent his letter by registered mail.

My father in law is also a mediator, and he strongly suggested that I always speak to them politely and never, ever lose my cool. Basically, never do or say anything you may have to apologize for, or answer to in a courtroom. You don't want ANY strikes against you if it ends up with the police or in court.

I also keep a small diary of any interactions or problems I have with them.

Yeah, but you're still missing two trees. Who pays for that?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Yeah, but you're still missing two trees. Who pays for that?

+1

You might be able to go after them in small claims. I would.

[KFC911]

You guys talking about monetary compensation would still be missing the trees . Like I said, I'm "old school", but monetary compensation would be the least of the neighbors worries if they initiated a pre-meditated action against my property given their past history and the scenario described. Mess with me or mine, and it's on...thank god I don't live in CA !

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Well, the $$$ would arguably be enough to replace the trees. At least that's what I hope it'd get used for.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Yeah, but you're still missing two trees. Who pays for that?

I transplanted a couple from elsewhere on my property. I have maple trees like some people have dandelions. I have a damn maple tree groing in one of my gutters

Basically, there was no use crying over spilled milk. I've been through small claims before, and it's a lot of time & effort so it better be worth my time. Even with a positive judgement, you still have to get them to pay up.

There's a lot of background, and it's a long and uninteresting story so I won't hijack this thread. The trees were cut, my neighbors are arseholes and I wanted to make sure it didn't happen again.

In this case, I would do everything I could to PREVENT it from happening in the first place. A letter from a lawyer via registered mail is the best approach, IMO.

You don't want to end up saying "coulda woulda shoulda"

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by jmshepard

I will post an update tomorrow with pixs of the offending shrubery.
Jim S.

Go to them and say 'NEEEEE!'.

This surely will fix their little red wagon!

[KevinG]

We had a similar case a few months ago here in Ventura county. Seems a lady went on vacation for a week, and when she came back a large pepper tree was missing from her back yard. A tree service had been called to remove the tree by a neighbor, probably posing as the property owner since the tree service got stuck for a $3,500 tree removal bill.

Police were called, and the value of the missing tree was set at $70K+. Felony grand theft. After several weeks of investigation, one of her neighbors turned himself in. Lady is currently pressuring the DA to not make a deal - she wants the felony conviction.

[Rick Lee]

Why would any tree service just cut down someone's tree withhout verifying the person ordering it is also the owner or their representative? Wouldn't they insist on being paid in advance, since they can't exactly undo the work once done?

And I think the idiot neighbor's own homeowner's insurance would cover most of whatever judgement they lost. So the modest rate hike might be worth their trouble, if they really want those trees removed. I'd make sure they knew there would be criminal and not just civil consequences to such actions.

When I lived way out in the sticks in TX, we regularly saw signs that read "Tree cutters will be shot." I think they meant it too.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

And I think the idiot neighbor's own homeowner's insurance would cover most of whatever judgement they lost.

You think their homeowners policy would cover vandalism? I'm willing to bet most insurers wouldn't touch any claim that came about through illegal activity.

[Tobra]

If you knowingly violate any laws, which would be the case here, your insurance will tell you to go pound sand in your ass.

If they lived next door to my father-in-law, their house would have probably caught fire by now.

Make it painfully clear to them how they could potentially lose their home if they go messing about on your property.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I just finished cutting down 2 trees and a 40' circle of very thick brush on my neighbors property this past weekend.

My neighbor received a citation from the city about removing 2 dead trees on her property. She told the city they were my trees. We have an unclear property line to which neither of us care enough to pay for a survey to find out where the line is. The city then sent the citation to me. I called them and said the trees were hers. The city said that is what she said. I asked the city to perform a survey at their expense to find out who has to cut down the dead trees. They said to throw the citation in the trash. That was an easy fight.

Being the nice hard working guy that I am, about a year later, I decided to get to work and remove the trees. Unfortunately the trees were smack dab in the middle of the thickest overgrowth this side of the Mississippi. It all had to come out. It took me 4 weekends to cut, chip up the branches and brush and move all the burnable wood to my wood pile. While removing the brush which had grown to about 25' in height, I was clearly cutting on her property and removing a barrier which gave her a nice bit of privacy. I was not sure if she would mind me cutting on her property but I did it anyway. When I was just about finished raking up the leaves, trash and 20 years of dead branch bits, she came walking over to talk to me. She was very pleased and thanked me for the hard work and beautiful job cleaning up an eyesore partially on her property.

Now she wants to plant a row of shrubs near the property line, I told her to take her best guess and plant away. I understand the future problems with property line violations, but really don't care.

These were the first words I ever spoke to my neighbor in the 5 years I have been in the house. Can't we all just get along.

[jmshepard]

Update:
We live in a gated community. This morning I stopped by the security office and spoke with the property manager. He listened to the story and recorded the information. The property manager called our neighbors and made it clear that cutting the trees would be an illegal act. Hopefully this is the end of the story.
Jim S.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by on-ramp

print this out on a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. stick it on the tree with a nail, so that it is very visible.
that should do it.

Also put a copy in the neighbors mailbox with an added note that the trees are valued at $1000 each.

[Joeaksa]

Jim,

How about a "No Tresspassing" sign and below it a "Do not cut at risk of penalty of law" on each tree until this is settled?

[Zeke]

Mold is not caused by shade from an adjacent property. These people are wrong in their approach to the problem and are looking for trouble. They need to get some drainage work done, IMHO.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Interesting.

How do you establish a monetary for a (xxx) year old Cypress tree, anyway?

You can buy big trees out here in boxes. I am setting up an order for two 25' x 25' Coral trees in 9' square boxes. They run about 15-20k each.

There is a very good Attorney in our area that specializes in arboricultural law. I'm sure there's one out in the area in question

[Zeke]

Actually, trees help drain the soil of moisture. This is a grading problem.

What do you think, woodman?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by jmshepard

Update:
We live in a gated community. This morning I stopped by the security office and spoke with the property manager. He listened to the story and recorded the information. The property manager called our neighbors and made it clear that cutting the trees would be an illegal act. Hopefully this is the end of the story.
Jim S.

Well that's kind of anti climatic.

[jmshepard]

stomachmonkey, how about this....
A gunfight broke out after the phone call from the property manger. It was a stalemate most of the afternoon. Fortunately, living in the Fort Bragg area, crew-served weapons are plentiful at the local pawn shops. My wife ran out and picked-up a "little friend". I used a M2 (.50cal) to reduce the neighbor’s house to rubble.