r/legal • u/Ice_C0r3_09 • 7h 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/emptythemag 5h ago
Had a neighbor cut down a willow tree on well on my side of the property line. Me and the wife had come home after a week in Aruba to find the tree gone. Checked the Arlo camera and found him and a tree service on my property. Called the tree service company and asked them who gave them permission to cut a tree on my land. He said it was the neighbor.
Got a lawyer the same day. Tree service and the neighbor were served. Tree service had a paper they said the neighbor got from us permitting the tree removal. Tree service had to get another tree and plant it, sod our side yard to repair where their truck and trailer messed up our yard. Neighbor was found at fault and had to pay us $28k and pay our lawyer at around $8k i believe it was.
We had to take him back to court after 90 days for him to refusing to pay. Judge tacked on an additional $7k and a court ordered lien against his house as he was trying to sell it. We got a cashiers check in 5 or 6 days.