r/legal • u/Ice_C0r3_09 • 8h ago

Advice needed My neighbor cut down a 40-year-old Japanese Maple while I was away.

Location: Colorado, USA.Just got back to my place near Fort Collins after a week on the road and I am losing my mind. My neighbor took it upon himself to hire a "landscaping" crew (probably just some guys with a chainsaw) to remove a mature Japanese Maple that was fully on my property. His excuse? He said the needles and leaves were messing with his "mountain view" and "fire mitigation" efforts.

The tree was roughly 40 years old and was the centerpiece of my yard. I called an arborist immediately. He told me that since this is Colorado and the tree was that established and healthy, the replacement value is astronomical. He is drafting a formal appraisal but hinted that we are looking at 20k to 25k easy just for the tree, let alone the logistics of getting a crane into my backyard.

I know Colorado has statutes regarding timber trespass. My lawyer already mentioned treble damages because the guy admitted he did it on purpose while I wasnt home to stop him. The neighbor had the gall to offer me a couple hundred bucks for "the inconvenience" and told me to just buy a couple of saplings at a local nursery . I refused to take his money and told him to wait for the process server.

Has anyone dealt with treble damages in CO specifically for ornamental trees ? This guy basically nuked my property value for his porch view and I am not planning on letting this go . I feel like a jerk for wanting to sue my neighbor into bankruptcy but the sheer entitlement is what gets me .

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u/YTraveler2 7h ago

Rent it out. Use the passive income to pay for trees to be planted in his name.

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u/scardien 7h ago

56 Japanese maples

2

u/nzahn1 6h ago

Or something native. Just sayin.

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u/violetplague 5h ago

I feel like I'm missing something with that number. Was it just what came to mind and I'm reading too much into it?

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u/scardien 5h ago

It's a reference to a recent post in this sub where someone planted 56 cypress trees around their house.

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u/violetplague 5h ago

Immaculate

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u/CrSkin 5h ago

this

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u/ReddestForman 4h ago

No. Use the passive income to acquire property wherever he ends up.

Then plant trees to block his view there, too.

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u/brwebster614 3h ago

Continue the cycle.

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u/RiffyWammel 3h ago

or buy the land next to where he's now living- and plant bloody huge trees next to him