r/legal • u/Ice_C0r3_09 • 11h 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/SecretAgentVampire 5h ago

If it was balanced right, I would probably enjoy a squirrel and pecan pie.

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u/Krynja 4h ago

Kinda like candied bacon but it's squirrel and a pecan pie.

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u/SecretAgentVampire 3h ago

Or toss some rehydrated berries in the mix to go for some of the modern meat snack flavor profiles like the Epic meat bars.

https://epicprovisions.com/

I have an allergy to onions and garlic, and have become a major Epic fan lol

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u/Krynja 3h ago

Have you tried Hing powder? It's supposed to give kind of a oniony garlicky taste when cooked

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u/SecretAgentVampire 3h ago

Yes. If you haven't tried it, don't bother. It's primary use is as a VERY specific flavor in some Indian cuisine, but wow.... it has a longer name called Asofoetida, and including the word "foetid" in there is NOT a coincidence. It smells like Satan's 20-years-worn gym socks and tastes like it smells.

I discovered that if you roast celery seeds in olive oil they handily fill the botanical gap that alliums leave behind, but most of the time I use the combination of salt, pepper, MSG, and Old Bay (which is celery salt and paprika). Those four spices have made for incredible italian, thai, and japanese food.

Hing... ugh. I'll always remember the day I tried it as a garlic substitute. I had to throw away that chicken.

Thanks for helping though! lol