Community Chat

[beanie]

Behind my home is a wooded area of about 45 feet. The 15 feet closest to my home belongs to me...then the next 15 feet belongs to the neighbor who lives "beside" me, and the next 15 feet belongs to the neighbor behind me. At one time or another the 15 feet in the middle was supposed to be an "assess" road but that changed. It is hard to determine whose land is whose and it's never been a problem because it just a wooded area.

Well...a couple of weeks ago, I had a tree in my backyard cut down by a landscaping crew. In order to get to the tree (with their boom truck) they had to access that wooded area. There was one "DEAD" tree 17' tall. My husband told them they could knock it down because it was so scraggly, and dead. Well, the neighbor "beside" me came screaming out of his house right after the tree was cut..that the tree was HIS!!!! And we didn't ask permission to cut it down. He then proceeded to put up flags and rope outlining where his property was.

Two days later I received a letter from his lawyer asking for my homeowner's insurance name and number because my neighbor is suing me for injuries that resulted from me cutting down a tree that was not on my property. The police also called me and said the man had made a report and was thinking of taking me to small claims court.

Since then, I have spoken to the tree company. They have pics of the tree. It was 17 feet tall, and cut up amounted to 1/16th cord of wood. The dead stump is still visible.

I have ignored the letter from the lawyer as I think this is a scare tactic. I think the neighbor realized if he took me to small claims court he would have to have the land surveyed. So, he's going this other route in the hopes of me maybe offering some money for the tree......along with an apology of course. What do you think??

beanie