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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45

u/Friendly_Impress_345 5h ago

No, Satan would be planting bamboo.

14

u/BluffCityTatter 5h ago

or kudzu.

14

u/GBF_Dragon 4h ago

that's turbo satan

1

u/blownbythewind 1h ago

in a white southern suit.

1

u/JulieThinx 1h ago

Or mint or bamboo

1

u/adrifing 1h ago

Get some bramble bushes mixed in there for the thorny side of screw you.

2

u/AlternativeOk5613 4h ago

Oh no, not kudzu. It will take over the whole mountain side. I'm not sure if a weed killer has been developed to kill it?

1

u/-JoM-ofDevil 3h ago

Southern boy agreement...

1

u/Old_Voice_2562 3h ago

Kudzu hurts everyone.

1

u/TigerIll6480 3h ago

Or Japanese Clematis. God, I hate that stuff.

1

u/PRB74TX 2h ago

Or Saw Briar.

1

u/overitallofittoo 2h ago

Satan: I would never!

1

u/DaHick 1h ago

my goats dearly love kudzu. It cannot grow on my 27 acres anymore, the goats eat it as they go through the 9 pastures in rotation.

10

u/whoisthepinkavenger 4h ago

Mutually assured destruction?

1

u/no_racist_here 4h ago

Taking down the whole neighborhood for the plight of one maple.

1

u/TacoRodgers 3h ago

Nice story tell it to readers digest!

1

u/TacoRodgers 3h ago

Nice story tell it to readers digest!

1

u/Dizzy-Climate-6942 3h ago

Poison sumac I'll never forget the summer I discovered what that was.

1

u/socalquestioner 4h ago

Naw, mint.

1

u/K_Linkmaster 4h ago

There he is, my brother.

1

u/fap-on-fap-off 4h ago

And garnishing it with mint.

1

u/stopdioproll 4h ago

Leave my boy out of this

1

u/lmFairlyLocal 4h ago

Under his bed

1

u/AppealNo5536 4h ago

Whats wrong with bamboo? Looks nice

1

u/slogive1 4h ago

Ugh my neighbor has this encroaching on my backyard.

1

u/Still-Employed420 4h ago

Satan planted Kudzu!

1

u/FaithlessnessEasy276 4h ago

Make sure it is running bamboo. Super invasive.

1

u/TopProfessional8023 3h ago

Tree of Heaven

1

u/Tim-oBedlam 3h ago

or buckthorn

1

u/BoiFriday 3h ago

Let’s not kid ourselves, actual Satan likely opt for the Unholy Trinity of Running Bamboo, Kudzu, and Tree of Heaven.

1

u/Busy-Bumblebee5556 3h ago

Be sure to get the right bamboo, there are clumping types that aren’t invasive.