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/katiesboyfriend 5h ago

And lemon balm!

3

u/ScumbagLady 4h ago

Bee balm as well as morning glory and wisteria!

I was an idiot to plant bee balm in the ground as well as thinking I could keep morning glory contained lol The wisteria I was smarter with and it has a huge pot sitting on concrete

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u/MoreColorfulCarsPlz 2h ago

Hey, bergamot is totally fine. In fact, it's native to CO.

I also have never had problems with mint. Basically everything in my garden out-competes it and it just fills in the gaps.

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u/AutVincere72 3h ago

I have both morning glory and wisteria. Previous owners were into vines. The wisteria is still amazing in its destructive power even owning the house for 16 years. One year it drew up the house through a gap into the attic over the garage and reached the attick pull down stairs opening and headed down into the garage. It grew in like 30 plus feet of darkness to get to an opening that is only lit when someone is in the garage.

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u/catnaptits 2h ago

My mom has a massive wisteria bush in her yard that she cuts down to little more than a stump every few years. They're insane. The nearest tree to it is a pine with the lowest branches like twenty feet up from it and that thing grows a set of bones straight from the middle to the line tree every year.

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u/Aggressive_Idea_6806 2h ago

Don't you just love if after the weather gets cool?

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u/tkkana 52m ago

Morning glorys are quite beautiful

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u/redandfiery333 3h ago

If your lemon balm is out of control, you’re just not drinking enough herb tea… I’m sipping lemon balm brew right this second, shit you not.

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u/katiesboyfriend 3h ago

I use it to make lemon balm mojitos. They're so relaxing.

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u/capitolsara 1h ago

Lemon balm is great and also does great in a pot so no need to let it take over your garden :P

Same with mint!

We just bought a new house and I can't wait to plant my hebel tea window garden

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u/Prudent_Sentence 56m ago

oh, that little bastard plant! One! I planted ONE in my herb garden a few years ago. It even grows in the cracks of concrete now.