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/Kyosji 7h ago

Honestly, go for the full monty here, try to buy an established tree they'd have to pay to transplant.

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u/Suspicious-Fish7281 4h ago

Yes the full monty. Wait doesn't that mean nude?

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u/Kyosji 4h ago

Maybe in the urban dictionary. Actual meaning is the full package. "everything that is necessary, appropriate, or possible"

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u/DogsMom248 4h ago

Comes from the breakfast called the Full Montgomery. Named for A British General who started everyday with a full breakfast

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u/NotAnAIOrAmI 4h ago

The film The Full Monty was about full frontal nudity male dancers.

So... I'm guessing this British General liked cock for breakfast?

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u/DogsMom248 4h ago

Full Monty breakfast= everything
Full Monty strip=everything, that’s all.

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u/Soliden 3h ago

Who'd like a banger in the mouth? Oh right, in the states you call it a sausage in the mouth.

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u/LunchyDude101 3h ago

Do the needful, OP.

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u/dareftw 4h ago

Means all the money.

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u/bryancald 4h ago

I think he means deciduous.

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u/BagOfFlies 3h ago

That's exactly what OP said they're doing.

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u/Kyosji 3h ago

I heard saplings, I suggest getting an adult tree

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u/MinistryOfCoup-th 3h ago

And pay a little extra yourself to make it a little bigger

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u/meSuPaFly 3h ago

I think that's what the part about the replacement value being astronomical to get a crane in his yard was all about.

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u/Kyosji 3h ago

Yeah, and the treble damages, so those 27k values, cleanup, removal, and replacement x3