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Do I stand a chance in court?

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Don48455

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I sold my neighbor some of my land 3 years ago so he could build an addition onto his home. One stipulation was that he re-fence the land upon completion of his construction. He has been complete now for 2 years, but he still has not put back the fence. He avoids talking to me and won't answer his phone when I call him. If I do manage to talk to him, all he say is that he's going to do it. Can I force him to put up the fence?

He has a 150lb dog that sometimes uses my yard as his bathroom. I called the police a couple years ago and they wrote my neighbor a $150 ticket. And that made matters worse for me. They feel I'm the bad guy in all this.

I have nothing in writing. I am old school and still believe in a handshake to seal a deal. He has admitted that we had a deal to put up a fence and that he will put it up. But how long do I have to wait? All I want is my fence put back up. Can I sue or something?
 
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latigo

Senior Member
Yours is a knotty situation. No pun intended, but the difficulty you would face in court is in the area of proof.

Although I don’t see anything in the deal that would involve the statute of frauds requiring the agreement to be in writing (it seems to me that it was supplemental to the land sale, not integral to it)…

BUT you’ll still have the burden of proving that a verbal agreement was made.

And not only that he agreed to construction the fence, but what kind of fence. Built from what - chain link, redwood cedar, pine, brick, stone, and at what height, steel posts, wooden posts, set in concrete, etc.?

Undoubtedly it was at least tacitly understood that he was to replace the same type of fencing that was removed to accommodate the extension of his property line? Which is certainly a plausible argument from your standpoint.

If you could get around these hurdles – i.e., did he agree to rebuild the fence and of what material - the time factor would not be a problem for you. Generally in contract law where there is no agreed upon time for performance, performance must be completed within a reasonable period of time.

My suggestion is that you get a bid of the cost of replacing it with a like structure. Then send him a copy of the bid informing him that if he does not do as he agreed and within 30-days you will see him in court.

Or you could tell him that if he does not replace the fencing as it existed and within 30-days, you will have it erected and sue him for the cost. Which might be more amenable to a case in small claims.

It would be helpful in court if you had some photographs sitting around showing the old fencing. An of course the new.

It doesn’t sound to me that he is actually denying that the agreement was made, (and will be hesitant to perjure himself in court) but rather that he is simply procrastinating.

The written demand may tilt him one way or the other. But if I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate. Go for it.

And next time you get involved in selling or buying land hire an attorney. All of this frustration could have been easily avoided. Plus you could have required him to reimburse you for your lawyer fees.

Good luck

Sax
 

Don48455

Junior Member
Thanks for the advice. I'll look for a few old pics on property with fence and get a quote on replacement.
 

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