Neighbors

[Taylortractornut]

I learned about the laws of tree removal from my father. When I was hatched dad had his own backhoe and dozer service. He and mom ran a souvenier shop in South Carolina and dad had his machinery business and a sidlein where he rented land and set up bill boards. On one little job there was a sign to be put on a corner of a property and there was a 3 by 10 strip that wasnt the renters that was in front of the sign on one side. Dad said there was 4 littl spindley pines there and some briars. Dad said he told his helper not to touch the trees because they werent theres. He had to go get some material and whe nhe got back the helper had taken dads dozer and peeled the little trees smooth off with the ground. Dad said it cost him 900 per tree i n 79. He said took many months for that sign to pay off. he also shed an employee to.


I got paid out of my friends deal to dig the stumps out and dres the ground up and was told to leave them in the neighbors sight.

 

[6sunset6]

The owner of the tree company called me and stopped by. He apologized for dropping the trees on my property, had no clue the trees were not owned by the person that hired him. I wonder what he thought the stone wall meant?
Anyway he was civil and asked me what I wanted. By this time there was only one tree left way down in the wetland. Big one though. He said I will do what ever you want, no machinery on your property. So I said cut it up and bring it to the guy across the road.
The woman that hired him did not want the wood, wonder why she went nuts when I said leave it there. Probably did want me not to have it either.
By the way the tree guy told me once the tree is down if it is on my side of the line it belongs to me. That could be interesting if the stump is on your side and you wanted the tree. Also told me the only way a property owner is responsible for damage caused by a tree falling over a property line is if there was a certified letter sent before it fell identifying the danger.

 

[CurlyDave]

He said I will do what ever you want, no machinery on your property.

Just out of curiousity, why didn't you tell him you wanted the trees replaced with the same size and species? I would have done that and wanted him to guarantee that the new ones lived for 5 years...

 

[LBrown59]

Then my friend moved all his old farm junk next to the line about 50 feet from it so the neighbor has to look at it daily lol.

Only problem with this is your friend has to look at it too.

 

[dodge man]

Most states have pretty strict laws about logging on someone elses property. It is often 3 times the value of the tree. Not knowing where the boundary is is no excuse.

I don't understand what the tree cutting guy is saying. He is saying if he cuts a tree down, it falls on your land, he is not responsible for the damage? That doesn't make any sense and I can tell you for a fact, that is not how the law would handle it.

I am a land surveyor and get involved boundary disputes on occasion. Some people don't understand and respect the importance of boundarys, or they dont' care. Don't get to emotional or stressed out over the issue. I've seen people spend a lot of money and get seriously stressed out over a situation like yours.

As a land surveyor, I also have to ask, are you sure the wall is your boundary? Have you had it surveyed in the past? Good luck.

 

[stravis]

The owner of the tree company called me and stopped by. He apologized for dropping the trees on my property, had no clue the trees were not owned by the person that hired him. I wonder what he thought the stone wall meant?
Anyway he was civil and asked me what I wanted. By this time there was only one tree left way down in the wetland. Big one though. He said I will do what ever you want, no machinery on your property. So I said cut it up and bring it to the guy across the road.

Good for you for not trying to profit off the mess. Many in this country would have tried to squeeze every dollar they could. :thumbsup:

 

[2manyrocks]

Also told me the only way a property owner is responsible for damage caused by a tree falling over a property line is if there was a certified letter sent before it fell identifying the danger.

That would be an odd state law and it goes against normal tort principles. He intentionally cut the tree and it fell. If it caused you damage, he would be responsible under traditional tort law.

 

[dave1949]

That would be an odd state law and it goes against normal tort principles. He intentionally cut the tree and it fell. If it caused you damage, he would be responsible under traditional tort law.

I took that to mean if the tree fell by natural causes, age, etc. If the property owner who suffered the damage had sent a certified letter beforehand warning the tree owner of the potential damage.
Dave.

 

[dcyrilc]

I took that to mean if the tree fell by natural causes, age, etc. If the property owner who suffered the damage had sent a certified letter beforehand warning the tree owner of the potential damage.
Dave.

That's how the laws read around here. Cutting a tree is a different issue.

 

[2manyrocks]

The tree cutter may be citing a legal principle that has nothing to do with his intentionally cutting those trees.

Now that he's cleared the trees, maybe it's a good place to shoot skeet.

 

[6sunset6]

Wow My thoughts are pretty clear when I write them.

He meant a dead tree falling by itself. If notice is sent before it falls then person who owns the land the tree is on is responsible for damage.
Not intentionally cutting.

I did not think of asking him to replace the tree. I think he would have balked.
Hard to plant trees in stone walls anyway.

I have a survey for my property. I know exactly where the line is. Right down the middle of the stone wall. It is pretty amazing how, when two survey stakes are 800 ft apart , the stones sit right on the line. The guys who piled those stones sure did them in a straight line. I guess ultimately the stakes are at each end of the wall and the wall is straight.

 

[Taylortractornut]

A friend of mine in the next town had a tree taken by the power company. It was way out of the reach of the ROW and no chance of it hittin the lines wich the law states 25 feet fro mthe line. My friend was mad but not nearly as mad as when the saw the ROW crew had a private truck with a knuckle boom loader loadin the tree. The owner of the truck is a PC crew leader. hesx been building a hunting lodge and has done that to many trees. They are about to hand his tail over it. They are going over the last 50 or so tree removals that they have authorized, to see how many he took that were in the guidelines of a legal tree to have been left alone.


On the tree man not thining about the stone wall he may have thought it was owned by the same property owner. I have a several customers that have bought a couple places, even though they are net fences its stil lgood policy to always ask and verify the property lines.

LBrown59 My friend Grew up Farming and is like me quite proud of his farm junk lol. My shop and laydown yard is like that.

 

[2manyrocks]

Remember Robert Frost's Poem the Mending Wall? --"Good fences make good neighbors." Frost, Mending Wall

 

[dodge man]

I'm guessing the stone wall is near the line. As a surveyor, we take measurments to fences and such, and I may draw the plat up to show a fence on the line, but in reality the fence may wander off the line in places. Out east, the boundarys are very common to be "along a stone wall" and the wall itself becomes the boundary. That is not near as common in the western states.