dagny80204
Junior Member
Colorado
My neighbor, who I had always been friendly with, came on to my property two weeks ago (while I was at work) and cut a major arterial limb off my tree. I understand that he has the right to cut branches that may hang over his property (although I think common courtesy is to discuss with the owner), but he cut the LIMB that about 600 BRANCHES were attached to.
Additionally, he did a lot of damage to the tree by cutting 3/4 of the way through the limb, and the weight of all the branches caused it to break the rest of the way, tearing into the trunk of the tree.
When I went to talk to him about it, he said,"Listen here woman...." and threatened to do more. I told him to stay away from my tree and if there was a problem, talk to me and I would take care of it. I also said to him that if he had EVER said anything to me, I would have worked with him to mitigate the problem, but to unilaterially cut the limb disrespected me not only as his neighbor, but also as a friend.
Two days later, he came BACK onto my property and sprayed pruning spray on all his cuts (which is considered toxic to trees).
I have filed a police report and had an arboreal inspector come out to look at the tree, who said that he cut about $2300 of value off a $10,000 tree and did about $400 worth of damage, as well as affected the life of the tree by 5 to 7 years.
I want to sue him in civil court for property devaluation, the cost to mitigate his damage, and for pain and mental stress. Is this a valid suit and how would I find a civil attorney to assist me? I would be happy to give the lawyer 20 percent of the suit -- I just want the neighbors to realize what they did was completely wrong and uncalled for.What is the name of your state?
My neighbor, who I had always been friendly with, came on to my property two weeks ago (while I was at work) and cut a major arterial limb off my tree. I understand that he has the right to cut branches that may hang over his property (although I think common courtesy is to discuss with the owner), but he cut the LIMB that about 600 BRANCHES were attached to.
Additionally, he did a lot of damage to the tree by cutting 3/4 of the way through the limb, and the weight of all the branches caused it to break the rest of the way, tearing into the trunk of the tree.
When I went to talk to him about it, he said,"Listen here woman...." and threatened to do more. I told him to stay away from my tree and if there was a problem, talk to me and I would take care of it. I also said to him that if he had EVER said anything to me, I would have worked with him to mitigate the problem, but to unilaterially cut the limb disrespected me not only as his neighbor, but also as a friend.
Two days later, he came BACK onto my property and sprayed pruning spray on all his cuts (which is considered toxic to trees).
I have filed a police report and had an arboreal inspector come out to look at the tree, who said that he cut about $2300 of value off a $10,000 tree and did about $400 worth of damage, as well as affected the life of the tree by 5 to 7 years.
I want to sue him in civil court for property devaluation, the cost to mitigate his damage, and for pain and mental stress. Is this a valid suit and how would I find a civil attorney to assist me? I would be happy to give the lawyer 20 percent of the suit -- I just want the neighbors to realize what they did was completely wrong and uncalled for.What is the name of your state?
Tranquility, I wanted you to know that I received $1700 in court on Monday for devaluation of my property and to repair the damage done to my tree by my neighborh. I'm over it now.