frustratdfarmer
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
We've had a long ongoing battle with a neighbor and it's about to come to a head. We live back a long lane, 3 families total, our portion is 82 acres and we own the lane, second family 14 acres on our north border, the problem is the third property owner who is fully surrounded by the other two properties and is an acre of land.
We've had a problem with them trespassing and encroaching on our land (we surveyed, they were 30 feet over the line, complete with swingsets and sheds). Fenced them in, they ran into and damaged the fence within a week). I got mad and pulled her pipe draining her pond onto my property (one of those spur of the moment rage fits). She called the sheriff and started hollering about easements, SO I researched the easements.
She has NO rights to drain any water except from the front of her driveway, buried properly and out to a canal on our land, she's not doing this. But, she's draining her sump/well overflow onto my land and making it impossible for me to access 10 acres of my farmland, losing crops.
In researching the easements I also learned we have a farm lane that goes THROUGH her yard, to the back fields, and at this time this would be the only way to reach our fields.
I've spent over $500 already in legal research and letters from our lawyer to no avail, in fact they go out of their way to block the farm lane with vehicles.
Last Saturday I called the sheriff, since it's not an emergency he can't make them move them, his advice was to either:
1) just file in civil court, he thought we wouldn't need a lawyer and would only have to pay a $40.00 filing fee, then when the judge ruled the sheriff could make them move.
or
2) Just tow the vehicles out of the way and go through.
BTW, the neighbors are gone on the weekends, so if we DID tow, it would be while their gone.
We THOUGHT we'd do the "civil" thing, and left them a letter on Tues of this week, stating if they did NOT clear the lane by Thurs. morning we would be filing in civil court.
Of course, the didn't move the vehicles, and put MORE directly in the way.
So, called the courts this morning only to be told that I personally can't file, I need an attorney to do this. I'm beyond frustrated now, I can't get to the hay to harvest, do NOT have money to pursue this in the courts, and can't get to my OWN LAND!!
Any other options? And if I cap the pipe from her well/septic can I be held liable for the damages to her home? If I park a tractor across the drive so they can't get in what will the consequences be? (after all, it's not an emergency, they could walk around it).
This is NOT a fun situation, the only thing keeping me sane is that I know it's driving her CRAZIER than it is us.
FF
We've had a long ongoing battle with a neighbor and it's about to come to a head. We live back a long lane, 3 families total, our portion is 82 acres and we own the lane, second family 14 acres on our north border, the problem is the third property owner who is fully surrounded by the other two properties and is an acre of land.
We've had a problem with them trespassing and encroaching on our land (we surveyed, they were 30 feet over the line, complete with swingsets and sheds). Fenced them in, they ran into and damaged the fence within a week). I got mad and pulled her pipe draining her pond onto my property (one of those spur of the moment rage fits). She called the sheriff and started hollering about easements, SO I researched the easements.
She has NO rights to drain any water except from the front of her driveway, buried properly and out to a canal on our land, she's not doing this. But, she's draining her sump/well overflow onto my land and making it impossible for me to access 10 acres of my farmland, losing crops.
In researching the easements I also learned we have a farm lane that goes THROUGH her yard, to the back fields, and at this time this would be the only way to reach our fields.
I've spent over $500 already in legal research and letters from our lawyer to no avail, in fact they go out of their way to block the farm lane with vehicles.
Last Saturday I called the sheriff, since it's not an emergency he can't make them move them, his advice was to either:
1) just file in civil court, he thought we wouldn't need a lawyer and would only have to pay a $40.00 filing fee, then when the judge ruled the sheriff could make them move.
or
2) Just tow the vehicles out of the way and go through.
BTW, the neighbors are gone on the weekends, so if we DID tow, it would be while their gone.
We THOUGHT we'd do the "civil" thing, and left them a letter on Tues of this week, stating if they did NOT clear the lane by Thurs. morning we would be filing in civil court.
Of course, the didn't move the vehicles, and put MORE directly in the way.
So, called the courts this morning only to be told that I personally can't file, I need an attorney to do this. I'm beyond frustrated now, I can't get to the hay to harvest, do NOT have money to pursue this in the courts, and can't get to my OWN LAND!!
Any other options? And if I cap the pipe from her well/septic can I be held liable for the damages to her home? If I park a tractor across the drive so they can't get in what will the consequences be? (after all, it's not an emergency, they could walk around it).
This is NOT a fun situation, the only thing keeping me sane is that I know it's driving her CRAZIER than it is us.
FF