A few weeks ago a tenant called at 730am that men were in the yard cutting down trees-- my trees. Property line from house to neighbors fence was 60 feet.

8am I was on site when the 8 men came out of my trees after de-limbing them and topping them. Their boss had them scatter as we waited for police. Police sent 4 cars. FYI during 911 call dispatcher had these questions: is anyone armed with guns is anyone drunk or can you see if they've been drinking? --8AM. I did have a gun but i placed it into my pick up be fore cops arrived.

Boss explained that the lady behind my house told him she had permission to cut the trees from me 2 yrs ago. The permission was to trim branches hanging over her fence (which by law she could do) -- not taking down 15 huge trees. So we were left with filing a civil suit. Police would not arrest for criminal trespass.

We just got all the body cam footage and insurance info from the police and tree man. Who BTW we blame because he should have shown due diligence and called us, the property owner, to verify it was ok to top 15 trees.

The neighbor was advised/supplied by me a 12 point document what she needed to do. Finish tree removal, grind stumps removed by Nov 30 2022. I understand this lady was sold a bill of goods by the tree company but she and the tree people, when we saw the video, lied threw their teeth. For example tree guy told cops he only topped 3 trees???? cop starts counting for the report and it was 14. One tree they didn't count was cut to ground level and trash put over stump. Then lady owner, out of my ear range, is insisting I gave her permission to take the trees. Cop wasn't buying it either.

Bottom line: filing a law suit for 7500.00 per tree x's 15 125K and 400K in punitive damages. Tree company has 1M in coverage. Have advised the insurance company that paying for the trees without court would only be 125. If we have to sue then all C/cost , atty fees and damages will be due.

Her reason for cutting-- she likes sun in her yard. My counter was well i like my trees in MY yard.

What if she decides to level yur house when yur gone

Get em good, myob. Take every cent.

The audacity of people these days.

Don't forget to deduct the value of the lost trees in taxes. Trees have value and if you had a loss, you can deduct it. Not only actual loss but future loss as well every year as they provided value/shade. There is an IRS guideline for this.

6x the police spoke to her on the phone and all was recorded by the video and audio cam. She said "well he told me I could trim them on the fence line" The cop said-- when did he say that? Neighbor "Two years ago" . Cop said he told you you could trim the limbs in your yard? Neighbor yes and I talked to the renter to let the owner know". All on the body cam. Which I now have a copy of.

You have to wonder what the tree trimming company was thinking. Taking down a lot of big trees because a neighbor asked them to remove the trees, but not checking with the owner of the property before they started.

Bonanza have you seen the movie My Cousin Vinny? No one and I mean NO ONE pulls the wool over a Gambino's eyes.

Even my Spanish helper said this tree guy is a smart a** and needs to be taught a lesson. He pulled the wool over the neighbors eyes-- he actually told her de-limbing a tree will not kill it-- new limbs will grow out???? yes you read that right. Lets not forget the statement to the police-- only 3 trees taken down.

Leave the gun take the cannoli's!!!!

Georgia must be a different market than up here.

A $7500 tree is exceptional - type of wood is first, tall and straight, no knots ... lots goes into grading trees for cost. You apparently still have the actual standing trees since they just topped them.

myob, Nicole may have a point. Based upon the tree calculators that I've seen, you may be undervaluing your trees. :-)

Nicole, PA state law mandates repayment of twice the value of the timber taken, so the restitution amounts may potentially be higher in PA.

myob states that the limbs were stripped from trees, not that they were topped. Stripping the limbs from trees will cause them to die.

There is a lot of case law in various states regarding "accidentally" removing trees, theft of timber, and more. And punitive damages can get very high, if you ever have the misfortune of being in a position to review case law on the topic. Add in the complexities of the appraisal value of a residential property with and without trees, and multiple of other factors. The right arborist and the right economist can help put a dollar value on yard trees for residential purposes, as opposed to simply the value of the lumber at a sawmill. There are also landscaping costs associated with rectifying the situation.

myob can look up the book "Growing Greener Cities" by the American Forestry Association for one model for determining the economic value of a single tree. Since myob has already identified the recent case precedence, he has identified attorneys who are experienced in this type of case.

I hope that the case settles quickly and satisfactorily for myob.

Similar story for a NH property I had. 3 two and a half foot diameter trees between our properties. I asked the owner "can I pay to take the trees (the branches threaten BOTH properties) ... "NOPE , I like the trees". Sooo I pay to "aggressively" de-limb what hung over my house. They are now only threatening him.

Myob I live in Georgia. I am looking for an attorney who has experience with Landlords/investment property--

thanks if you know any.