Being sued for property damage

[tonjadr]

I run a home daycare in Missouri.
My neighbor of 2 years has a garden in the back portion of her yard. We share a common fence that runs north and south. She has not used the back portion of her yard as a garden since she moved in and thus the weeds become quite overgrown. Some reaching up to 8 ft.
This forest like area harbors several rodents including rats and a very large groundhog that frequently run into my yard. The last time my husband mowed he watched as 3 very large snakes that came from her "garden" into our yard. Because of my own children and the others that I watch this is a huge problem.
My husband decided to jump across a 4 ft fence that we share and cut the weeds back away from our yard.
In doing this we had to cut down our blackberry bushes which didn't produce because the weeds had overtaken them and choked them out.
While cutting ours down and weed eating along the fence he also pruned some of her blackberry bushes. Leaving them 15" tall as recommended by the head gardener at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
We didnt want to call the city and have them get involved and embarrass her by giving her a ticket.
She now claims that he destroyed $1000.00 worth of mature blackberry bushes that she claims she makes jam with. She says that she picked 40 gallons of unrefined blackberries last year and by cutting these bushes down (pruned them the 2nd week of sept) we cost her $2000.00.
She and her parents came out yelling at my children telling them to get their parents right away and scared them to death. When my husband came outside to see what was going on he was verbally attacked immeditately by her father. He continuely called him"white-trash" and "tacky" and said he would "finiancially ruin us" because he "owns more property and has more money" than we ever would.
Her mother threatened my daycare by saying "Your wife runs a home daycare for Gods sake dont you know the kind of trouble I can cause for her?"
The police were finally called and a report was made. The only violation on the ticket is for property damage...no tresspassing. The police officer himself thought it was rediculus but had to write the report and give my husband a court date because she insisted.
I did go out and cam cord what it looked like that night and again in the am. I also cam corded her dad the next morning clearing out the growth from in front of her gate. It was so overgrown she was unable to even get into the garden to pick any berries. I took still pictures as well.
Her own brother in law, who she bought the house from, said that he would testify that she never picked any blackberries or made any jam. please...any advice or help would be appreciated.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I run a home daycare in Missouri.
My neighbor of 2 years has a garden in the back portion of her yard. We share a common fence that runs north and south. She has not used the back portion of her yard as a garden since she moved in and thus the weeds become quite overgrown. Some reaching up to 8 ft.
This forest like area harbors several rodents including rats and a very large groundhog that frequently run into my yard. The last time my husband mowed he watched as 3 very large snakes that came from her "garden" into our yard. Because of my own children and the others that I watch this is a huge problem.
My husband decided to jump across a 4 ft fence that we share and cut the weeds back away from our yard.
In doing this we had to cut down our blackberry bushes which didn't produce because the weeds had overtaken them and choked them out.
While cutting ours down and weed eating along the fence he also pruned some of her blackberry bushes. Leaving them 15" tall as recommended by the head gardener at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
We didnt want to call the city and have them get involved and embarrass her by giving her a ticket.
She now claims that he destroyed $1000.00 worth of mature blackberry bushes that she claims she makes jam with. She says that she picked 40 gallons of unrefined blackberries last year and by cutting these bushes down (pruned them the 2nd week of sept) we cost her $2000.00.
She and her parents came out yelling at my children telling them to get their parents right away and scared them to death. When my husband came outside to see what was going on he was verbally attacked immeditately by her father. He continuely called him"white-trash" and "tacky" and said he would "finiancially ruin us" because he "owns more property and has more money" than we ever would.
Her mother threatened my daycare by saying "Your wife runs a home daycare for Gods sake dont you know the kind of trouble I can cause for her?"
The police were finally called and a report was made. The only violation on the ticket is for property damage...no tresspassing. The police officer himself thought it was rediculus but had to write the report and give my husband a court date because she insisted.
I did go out and cam cord what it looked like that night and again in the am. I also cam corded her dad the next morning clearing out the growth from in front of her gate. It was so overgrown she was unable to even get into the garden to pick any berries. I took still pictures as well.
Her own brother in law, who she bought the house from, said that he would testify that she never picked any blackberries or made any jam. please...any advice or help would be appreciated.

My response:

It makes no difference whatsoever what her property looks like or produces for her. It was not your husband's duty, right, or otherwise to decide for her what was "good" or "bad" with her property, or how she conducted herself with regard to her property.

Your husband acted without permission, on his own, and made a decision for her. It's called criminal and civil trespass. Your husband has no authority or reason to blame the neighbor for any animals that may inhabit her property and that come over onto your property - - it's called nature.

Your husband will attempt to defend himself, and show the video and still pictures to the judge, and the judge will respond, "So what? " - - just like I'm doing.

There were other methods to protect your property from hers without violating the law and your neighbor's rights. Your husband, however, decided to take the law into his own hands, use "self help", and without regard to her rights, used the most expedient method - - which, in this case, has gotten the both of you in "hot soup". It is not within your husband's rights to dictate how another uses, or abuses, their property. Your husband could have sued for Encroachment, built a better fence, used a defoliant, used vermin eradicants, or many other methods to keep your property safe. But no, he used "self help" without regard to her property rights.

Never, never, go onto someone else's property without permission, either express or implied.

Good luck. You're going to need it.

IAAL