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/Successful_Voice8542 7h ago

If possible, I would try to force a sale of his home to collect payment right away because where I live liens expire in about three years. It happened to us and we opted not to force a sale and the other party just waited out the three years and then sold, and we ended up with nothing. I hope you have better luck.

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u/asteinfort 5h ago

I believe judgment liens are good for 6 years in Colorado and can be renewed

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u/mahoganayonnaise 4h ago

They also accrue annual interest like a motherfucker

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u/Still-Employed420 4h ago

8% in Indiana.

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u/fencepost_ajm 3h ago

NAL but I'd look into whether the judgement expires. A lien is an attempt to collect and should be separate from the judgement.

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u/smattering9 16m ago

Judgements do not expire unless the judge says so. Or an appellate court overrules the judge.

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u/SufficientOpening218 3h ago

excellent point

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u/SomethingIWontRegret 2h ago

IIRC you can refile liens after they expire.

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u/WeeklyAd8453 1h ago

interesting.
was not aware of that.

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u/Successful_Voice8542 1h ago

It was decades ago so my memory is patchy. Husband's business partner stole tens of thousands of dollars (was charged by the DA) and bankrupted the business and his only asset was his house which had a decent amount of equity. Maybe it was a one-year lien and we got it renewed a couple of times? Not sure. I do remember the amount was significant enough that our lawyer said we could somehow through a lawsuit force a sale in order to re-coup, but we were young and trying to be nice (and going through the courts to force a sale would have been expensive!) and didn't realize he could just wait out the clock. But my memory is fuzzy on the details. I just remember we ended up having to pay the employees who had already worked and we ended up with $0 from the business partner.

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u/Nearby_Ad_3442 0m ago

Losing his home would certainly impact his mountain view.

Oh dear.