Neighbors can do lots of annoying things. Some have dogs that bark all day long or cats that come to your yard to bury their droppings. Others put up fences that block your view of beautiful natural sites. Surveys show that nosiness is the number one complaint people have about their neighbors.
But this entitled neighbor did something illegal — he cut down an 89-year-old oak tree that was well into his neighbor’s property under the pretense that it was too close to his shed. What’s more, he demanded that the neighbor cover half of the $2,000 cutting expenses. The couple who lived there loved that oak tree, so they were ready to fight for justice tooth and nail, and so began a two-year legal battle that taught the entitled neighbor a lesson about tree law.
A neighbor from hell cut down a homeowner's 89-year-old oak tree because it was “too close to his shed”
The tree was on the neighbor’s property, and cutting it down was definitely illegal, so the guy had to answer for his actions in court
“You could well have a 5-figure claim,” the commenters urged the homeowner to seek justice in court
After two years, the homeowner came back with an update about how much money he won in court
Trees increase property value and make the neighborhood environment better
A neighbor cutting down your tree can feel pretty violating. First and foremost, it’s about someone coming onto your property and destroying something that belongs to you. But more than that, it’s also about reducing your property value, messing with the ecosystem of your yard, and removing something that might be of personal sentimental value.
Neighborhood trees are not just pretty to look at — they provide property value for those who have them in their yards. If the tree is mature and healthy, sometimes it might even be appraised for up to $10,000. Statistics show that mature trees can raise a property value by 3-15%.
Those perks sometimes even extend to neighbors as well. Data from the University of Washington shows that properties that are situated near parks and open spaces are valued higher by 8-20%, and that positive effect extends for about half a mile. Perhaps the neighbor wouldn’t have chopped the tree if he knew it had the potential to increase his property risk.
But neighborhood trees are not just about increasing property values — they’re big parts of the neighborhood ecosystem. Shade trees have hydrologic benefits and intercept 44-65% of rainfall, but they do so much more:
- they keep pollutants out of water
- prevent soil erosion
- decrease stormwater runoff
- their roots keep the soil moist and renew groundwater supplies
Trees also provide shade, which can amount to pretty significant savings for homeowners. According to the Dave Tree Expert Company, a mature red maple tree can save around 570 kWh of electricity by reducing the need for air conditioning in the summer.
This homeowner’s story is a good lesson in how not all cases of tree law end in five-figure profits for the owners. Some stories on r/treelaw may be about homeowners who were able to get thousands of dollars in the courtroom, but, as the OP explained in his update, many similar stories end with something like this — they’re lengthy, expensive, and with minimal payoff.
One reason for this could be that, unlike the viral stories where homeowners receive six-figure payouts, many tree law disputes feature careless neighbors who simply didn’t check the property line. The courts sometimes don’t punish them severely because they deem it accidental.
“More commonly, you're dealing with a case where there isn't actually intentional conduct, or there isn't malicious intent,” attorney who started the NewEnglandTreeLaw.com website, Israel Piedra, told Business Insider. “They try to make it look like a mistake, or at least maintain some level of plausible deniability.”
The attorney fees and expert witness costs (like the arborist or surveyor) come into play, too. And, according to the American Rule, each party has to cover those on their own, even in the event that they lose. So, even if the homeowner is awarded a considerable sum, it significantly diminishes after they cover all the fees. At the end of his post, the OP seems to have made peace with that, and at least he got justice in the moral sense.
“Just shows how much people can get away with,” some disappointed commenters wrote
