Neighbor dispute regarding overhanging shrubs.

[yyz0]

Hello all, this question pertains to NY state.

My mother's property has Rose Of Sharon shrubs along the property line. The neighbor has been complaining about them for years, saying things like they draw bees which bother her dogs, etc etc.
She has been told multiple times she's welcome to trim back what ever hangs over the property line the same as the tree branches that she also complains about.

She recently had vinyl fencing installed along that property line. Now she's complaining that the flowers fall in her yard and they are toxic to her dogs. She has stated that my mom will be getting a letter from her lawyer.
The bushes have been in place for over 10years throughout which time she has had dogs that use her back yard and there have been no issues that we are aware of.

Does my mother have anything to worry about with this letter? I've told my sister, who's freaking out about getting a letter, that 99% of the time a letter from a lawyer is just a scare tactic to make you panic and just do what they want out of fear of the 'letter'.

thanks in advance

 

[Zigner]

For the time being, ignore the neighbor. IF a letter comes, then your mom can talk to someone about it, although I suspect what you told your sister is spot-on.

 

[LdiJ]

Hello all, this question pertains to NY state.

My mother's property has Rose Of Sharon shrubs along the property line. The neighbor has been complaining about them for years, saying things like they draw bees which bother her dogs, etc etc.
She has been told multiple times she's welcome to trim back what ever hangs over the property line the same as the tree branches that she also complains about.

She recently had vinyl fencing installed along that property line. Now she's complaining that the flowers fall in her yard and they are toxic to her dogs. She has stated that my mom will be getting a letter from her lawyer.
The bushes have been in place for over 10years throughout which time she has had dogs that use her back yard and there have been no issues that we are aware of.

Does my mother have anything to worry about with this letter? I've told my sister, who's freaking out about getting a letter, that 99% of the time a letter from a lawyer is just a scare tactic to make you panic and just do what they want out of fear of the 'letter'.

thanks in advance

I agree with Zig. I will also say that I had Rose of Sharon in my yard and had lots of dogs during those years, and none of my dogs ate or had any reaction to the Rose of Sharon.

 

[adjusterjack]

The neighbor has been complaining

Is the neighbor named Karen?

 

[yyz0]

Is the neighbor named Karen?

Actually my sister refers to her as "The B!"

I'm just hoping to reassure my sister/mom that she's just blowing smoke and to keep ignoring her rantings

 

[zddoodah]

99% of the time a letter from a lawyer is just a scare tactic to make you panic

That might be the most absurd thing I've read in months.

As for the situation you described, I'd suggest that your mother continue to ignore her neighbor but also act like a good neighbor by keeping her shrubbery properly trimmed. If a letter from a lawyer shows up, then she can retain her own attorney to respond. Trying to hypothecize about the appropriate level of worry about a letter that might or might not be sent at some unknown point in the future is beyond pointless.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Actually my sister refers to her as "The B!"

I'm just hoping to reassure my sister/mom that she's just blowing smoke and to keep ignoring her rantings

Unless your mother's municipality has something about this in its municipal code, she's fine.

Your mother should feel free to laugh at any officious sounding letter from a lawyer regarding the rose of sharon; it is the neighbor's responsibility to prune the "offending" branches on her side of the property line. Any "damages" she can claim from errant petals would be a small claims issue.

What your mother should do, though, to reassure herself, is talk to code enforcement. That's because, while lawyers can write officious, ominous sounding letters, they cannot enforce the law. Code enforcement has that job.

I, too, am in NY and have an... annoying neighbor.

My annoying neighbor has complained to code enforcement about issues that were not a violation of our town code, because our town at that time had no legislation on the subject. There was another town in the county that had code on the subject, but that was not relevant, as the properties in question were not in that town (and, FWIW, my family's property was in accord with even the code of that town).

Code enforcement is required to inform the property owner that a formal complaint has been made. However, code enforcement will take no action unless the allegation describes an actual violation of code.

I wonder if the neighbor's fence is code compliant - does it follow the required setbacks for non-mutual fences, is it within the height allowances?

 

[quincy]

Has your neighbor claimed that her dogs have become ill from consuming any of your mother’s Rose of Sharon blossoms? Any veterinary bills?

A significant amount of blossoms must be ingested before a dog experiences toxic effects - and flower blossoms really are not high on the list of items a dog is likely to eat, especially a well-fed dog.

I don’t see that your neighbor has good support for a legal action, based strictly on what you have said. But any letter from an attorney should not be entirely dismissed. An attorney letter would indicate that the neighbor has sought legal help and is at least considering a lawsuit, whether one has merit or not.

Should your mom receive a summons and complaint, she will have to respond. In the meantime, she can keep her bushes trimmed back from the property line and ignore the neighbor.

 

[westside]

That might be the most absurd thing I've read in months.

Lawyers send countless letters that have no force in law and are intended to intimidate. The percentage quoted might be high, but is the characterization incorrect?

 

[quincy]

Lawyers send countless letters that have no force in law. The percentage quoted might be high, but is the characterization incorrect?

It depends.

An attorney generally won’t send a letter on his/her letterhead that threatens a lawsuit if there is no intention of following through on the threat. But many attorney letters are an attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement so court can be avoided.

 

[westside]

It depends.

An attorney generally won’t send a letter on his/her letterhead that threatens a lawsuit if there is no intention of following through on the threat. But many attorney letters are an attempt to reach an out-of-court settlement so court can be avoided.

I agree, but when the attempt to reach a settlement is in a situation where his/her client would have no chance of winning in court, is the OP characterization not accurate?

 

[quincy]

In other words, they are not something to be ignored.

Ah. You edited your post. Most attorneys will not send a letter that threatens a lawsuit if a lawsuit has no merit.

 

[zddoodah]

Lawyers send countless letters that have no force in law and are intended to intimidate.

I don't disagree with that as phrased, but this statement has little to do with your prior statement that, "99% of the time a letter from a lawyer is just a scare tactic to make you panic."

The percentage quoted might be high

Might be? Of course it's high. It's absurdly high.

but is the characterization incorrect?

What characterization?

Your assertion was as follows:

1. 99% of letters from lawyers
2. are "just" a scare tactic
3. intended to induce panic in the recipient

Has at least one lawyer sent a letter that was "just" (i.e., solely) for those purposes? Sure. But so what? I, for one, have never sent a letter "just" for those purposes. And, in this case, the letter in question isn't even real. Your mother's neighbor has made a threat to have a lawyer send a letter. Just because the neighbor threatened it doesn't mean it will happen and, if it does happen, we have no way of predicting what it might say. If/when it actually gets sent, then it might be possible to assess intelligently the motivations behind the letter. However, advancing or perpetuating the idea that letters from lawyers are "just a scare tactic to make you panic" is, as I said, absurd.

 

[quincy]

Westside is not the original poster. Yyz0 is the one who said 99% of letters from attorneys are simply scare tactics.

Lawyers for copyright and/or trademark holders, for example, often send scary letters in an attempt to settle an infringement of rights-protected works, and debt collection agencies often send scary letters to get debtors to pay up - but they also have histories of suing if the ones in receipt of the letters do not respond to the letters. The letters can be intimidating.

That said, it might be closer to the truth that 99% of people who SAY they are going to contact a lawyer to sue, especially over stuff like overhanging shrubs or barking dogs or other minor annoyances, probably don’t or won’t.