This tree was planted by my great great grandparents. We are absolutely sick about it. My neighbor is denying it. Cops are getting involved.
I have previous text threats. That’s about it…
Ask your neighbor to send you the bill. They’ll think you’re going to pay for it when you’re really collecting evidence
genius ^
OP better hope his neighbor is really stupid.
His neighbor destroyed his property in a very provable way. We are not dealing with a whole ton of forethought here.
Neighbor is gonna be stumped
That’s a good one!
Great way to get confirmation that they did, which company they did it with, all the pieces of evidence you would need if you want to take them to court.
That’s stone cold work 🤙
F’king brilliant. Genius.
Record the call too
And bang their wife for good measure
Crazy like a fox
Ahh, the ol Kentucky Switch
"Hey, send me the bill, I'm going to take care of it." Neighbor sends bill. "...By taking you to court."
Add that you're really relieved to have it gone - finally!
You have before pics? Any cameras? If not I’d get one… neighbor sounds risky
...or if the tree is visible on Streetview.
Something that big would be visible on satellite photos easily. Near a big city you'd probably have a 4 shots a year in high res.
You can get a pic off of Google Earth.
anyone around have a ring doorbell even? File a police report.
I know someone else suggested this but call around to your local tree cutting companies. No way your neighbor did that on their own and the company that did should have a record of the work the performed.
Cut that far up they've had to get someone with a bucket or at least someone who could do it with tree climbing gear. Either way, specialized work.
Not only that, but a possible neighbor as a witness. Asking for the bill is brilliant. If not, call local companies to see if one was hired. Hell, the more evidence, the better.
Correct me if I am wrong but doesnt this mean the local tree cutting companies is going to be in some deep shit as well and chances are they have insurance that can pay the big bucks.
They are in trouble as they failed to make sure they had permission from the land owner to do it
Great point, if they all checked this it’d save a lot of heartache
Yup and it’s an expensive lesson that they are likely going to learn the hard way. Here’s to hoping it motivates the owners to do the due diligence before chopping down a tree.
That is plenty evidence enough for a civil trial to sue to be made whole. Seriously there is a whole branch of Tree Law with thousands of precedents where your neighbour will have to give you reparations for this. In many states they would have to pay for a mature tree to be planted in your garden.
Whole branch of tree law lol
A whole branch?!
I only got a leaflet 😅
Civil law only requires preponderance of the evidence. Definitely consult with an attorney and get that paper.
Treble damages statute in my last jurisdiction. Cutting down someone else's trees is malum in se. Unbelievably, has happened to me three times.
The text threats are at least a start. But someone else must have seen something. A neighbor? A passersby? A Bing camera? Someone knows who did this. I'd stop at nothing to find out who. This is a bold and illegal act. I wish you all the best and sorry for your loss. 😔 There's no amount of money that will replace the tree. But when you do find the culprit, I'd take them for all they got.
If a company cut it down on your property without your permission they might also be in hot water. Looks unlikely that the neighbor did it himself?
Yeah, it seems unlikely he grabbed his chainsaw and shimmied up that tree.
In the dead of night so that nobody would see him.
RNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnhhh...
RNNNNNNNNNhh...
Honey, wake up -- what's that noise?
RNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNhhh.
Just racoons, just go back to RNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN CRAAAAAAACKBOOM. sleep.
*silent wood chipper noises*
Call around tree services and see if they cut it down. Ask the neighbors.
Yes, speaking as if you are looking to hire the company.
Someone saw it. Lots of ring cameras out there too these days
I'd say someone chain-saw it alright.
You can tell it was an old tree from counting the ring cameras.
Definitely ask neighbors and/or utilize the nexdoor online community. Often tree trimmers will pass out flyers and marketing to others in the area to drum up business, anyone near you could have more info to narrow your search. Good luck OP. Poor tree
I'd just ask him if he did it. I doubt this guy is going to deny it. If he denies it, I'd tell him you set up a camera and caught him doing it, so there's no point in lying about it. I'd also ask around your neighbors to see if they saw anything. Remember to bring a witness with you to these discussions.
OP says neighbor denied it.
Agree w others that this involves a tree company. There's a chance the neighbor did not do this, and the tree company came to the wrong address.
This happened to me a few months ago. PSEG came and parked their truck and a tree grinder truck in front of our huge tulip tree. The men were staring up at it and a map or something, looking confused. After a few mins my wife went out and asked them what they were doing. They had the wrong address. Off by 500 in the house number. But from OP's history w the guy, this does not sound to be the case.
An operation this big requires a day and would be making a lot of noise. Other neighbors would've heard and seen the commotion.
Maybe ask your neighbor if he has a recommendation for a tree company to remove the trunk and see if they dealt accepted payment from his card or remember him paying cash for this specific job
That is enough especially if he mentions the tree.
Go over, thank him, and ask for the bill.
You should buy the biggest pecan tree you can find, have it trucked in and planted right in the same spot.
Do you have other neighbors nearby? I am sure someone must have heard or seen it in action.
Christ Almighty. Good luck. Out of curiosity what kind of evidence do you have/why do you believe your neighbor to have done it?
We have been bumping heads with this guy for years. It all started when he moved next to us. The tree is relatively close to his house and after these storms we had in DFW he demanded we cut it down before it falls on his house. Which in reality, the tree is leaning away from his property.
r/treelaw . Ask them about this. They could owe you thousands of dollars for their incompetence amongst other things.
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20d
OP…go around and ask your neighbors for a description of the trucks/work uniforms off the guys who cut it down. That will make your search easier.
In DFW there are at least 300 local companies that trim trees
A finite number to call. Good.
I’d be pissed enough to call every single one. I’ve done more under less provocation.
Where I live you can’t do work on a tree that size without notifying the city.
Given they were apparently ok with trespassing on someone else’s property, they may not have followed the city protocols to the letter….
This is a good idea but, unless the tree is actually on the neighbors property, what reputable tree company would cut down a tree at the request of someone who doesn't own the property on which the tree in question is currently rooted?
If a company did cut the tree down and it is actually on OP's property, I wonder if the company is "reputable" enough to give out that information or if they'll just deny it because they would very much be involved in the lawsuit for cutting a tree down without proper approval.
Based on the age of this tree and as a professional nurserymen I'd say tens of thousands
I’d do everything I could to legally smoke your neighbor. Pecan trees are precious, especially when the start producing several years down the road.
Especially when your great grand parents planted it.
I’d say closer to tens of thousands. Its near-impossible to replace a tree that big, so the price will be similarly high
R/Treelaw is where to start, arborists can’t help your tree now.
Hundreds of thousands
Cut it as close to the base and there is a chance that it may send up stump sprouts and you can train a new tree. You need to have it done soon though. Keep the trunk section of the tree until you have the tree worth evaluated.
- Most states have a state forestry service forester program and they can evaluate the worth of the tree so you have a number to work off of. Some ISA arborist can/will do this as well.
Hopefully the cops can get a statement out of your neighbor, that admits they did it. If they can you can prove malicious intent and the fine (in many state) increases from x2 the cost of the tree to x3.
If you tell me your state I’ll help hook you up with your state resources.
Feel free to DM me or reply to my comment, I hate people that do this type of shit.
This is a good deal! Get down on this OP!
Thank you fr
When you are done with it from a legal perspective you might want to see if any local woodworkers would be interested in that giant log.
Depending on the condition pecan can be great for furniture, and that's a decent-sized and straight trunk. Properly cut and dried it would be worth a few bucks.
It would badass to get it wood carved into a middle finger morphing into a dollar sign to put in the yard facing the neighbor.. After r/treelaw gets the neighbor heavily fined.
OP said DFW in a comment, which would be Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Cool! Thanks for the tip I didn’t know that. I’ll check around and make an edit.
Maybe get live video cameras like those ring ones and order 10 pecan trees to plant along the property line. Fences make good neighbors too.
Straight strain honeylocust for the 6in thorns and poison ivy for the fall foliage color. Through in Carolina rose for the flower and a nice living fence.
You forgot the mint. Everyone loves the smell of mint.
You forgot bamboo
This is a war, not mutually assured destruction.
😂🤣😂
kudzu looks very lush in the middle of summer.
And the cost of the tree is calculated to what it would take a transplant a tree of matching size into that location.
Which would be ridiculously expensive to have to find and plant a tree of that size.
So x3 and you’re looking at a really nice settlement.
Not that it sounds like you should have had do, but did you ever get a risk assessment done by an arborist? Might have helped shut him up, but I know some people just don't quit till they get their way, evidently, if he cut it down.
I agree that he shouldn’t have cut it down, but after moving to Louisiana and learning how dangerous pecan trees can be, I’m always surprised when I see them near a house. I’ve seen 5 structures seriously damaged by pecan trees just this season. Some were old and obviously a hazard, but others were seemingly fine. There was absolutely a better (and more legal) way to handle this, but I do think that if my neighbor had a pecan tree close to my house, I would offer to pay to have it assessed and maybe split the cost of removal if necessary.
You sound like a fair and reasonable man, I'd like you as a neighbour
Since we don't have these trees in Europe, what makes them dangerous?
I just replied to someone lower down in the thread, just wanted to say that for etiquette purposes. Basically, I think it's a broad leafy canopy that can get blown over by gusts, not really very specific to pecans.
There are also potential digestive issues for dogs and horses.
Pecan trees are very thick and their root system can be quite strong. I had a beautiful pecan tree 30ish feet away from my house as a kid. When hurricane Fran hit, it blew the tree over. The tree annihilated a shed and the roots damaged our foundation.
Yeah, as someone with 2 70-foot pecan trees pretty close to my house, I’d like to know this, too.
Well... take this with a giant grain of salt... I'm not an expert and I don't think pecan trees are actually more dangerous, but they have these 3 attributes: 1) full broad shade giving canopies that can act as sails as catch more gusts of wind, which can be a factor in tree related damage, 2) I believe pecan trees, like many other taller trees will shed lower limbs, meaning the tree will naturally close of the vascular system of the lower limbs and let them die and fall and 3) it is a dense hard wood. In other words, it's like a tree + they grow pretty tall, so height and gravity.
There is also something about potential sickness to dogs and horses.
When the dust settles hit me up if you want to get it milled.
I believe Texas is a one party state. Sounds like your neighbor might be dumb enough to admit his actions if you approach him with calm questions rather than heated accusations. Hidden camera or voice recorder for the evidence. Also, don’t forget this is Texas and if they’re completely unhinged then it’s not even worth it. Especially in Texas.
This guy fucked up so hard. That's gonna cost him an astronomical amount of money. its not like just any tree they yield a product. An Arborist can help you find a price. But a tree like that might be near priceless to replace as it looks like a multi century tree. When I was a kid we had a dispute with a neighbor who cut down one of ours (we had rows of 200 year old trees) and it essentially bankrupted the dude and that was in the 80' s.
There’s legal ramifications if u can prove it’s him
I have seen trees bend opposite their natural bend and break in storms. The way it's leaning is irrelevant. The canopy is a big sail in high winds.
Regardless, he didn't have the right to cut the tree down.
I was a tow- truck driver in WA state. If we used a fruit tree as an anchor and it came down or was damaged, the company would be liable for the amount of fruit it would bear in its life.
Yes, seriously please give us more details
I'm feeling sick for you! That's a lot of tree. Somebody saw who did it.
I am waiting to hear back from neighbor across the street to see if they can see it on the ring camera
Shouldn't be hard to get a testimony from the arborist. Bet you have less than ten nearby.
Stop waiting to hear back go file a police report today
I SAW what you did there. Im sorry 😔
And the worst part? Even if the courts rule in your favor, the tree is still never coming back. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'd be devastated.
Some sprouts might pop up.
🤞
My dad cut live oak and maple trees a year or two ago and those trees are practically bushes now they grew so many stump sprouts
!remindme 100 years
Many judgements have stipulated they actually replace the tree with a full grown (as in adult, not 100 years old) tree, which as you can imagine would take most people mortgaging their homes to pay for.
OP I wish you well and that your neighbor gets absolutely fucked over this. Contact arborists and any business around to find out who did the work and who their client was
Yeah, that's the way to play it. An untrained neighbor is not topping a tree like that, so he had to hire some type of professional to do it. Hire a lawyer and visit every local tree removal and hell every low-end lawn service provider with pics and your address and see who owns up to it. Once you have them and promise not to sue them directly, they will probably provide their contact to your lawyer or sign an affidavit that it was your neighbor that hired and paid them for the service. At that point it's an easy layup in court and depending on your state you are looking at tens of thousands of dollars for a 80 year old mature pecan tree.
But can OP actually sue the tree company as well? They should've asked for a proof of ownership, didn't they?
Like, you can't just call a locksmith to open somebody's door to steal stuff, they'll need a proof that you live there. Why a tree company shouldn't uphold the same standards?
Two Chuck's with a Truck are not professionals.
But they had a magnet sticker on the truck saying they were!
Thank you much!
In my old area there are certain farmers & generally handy people who also do a lot of tree cutting (happen to be Mennonites). (They're uninsured but quite inexpensive so some people do use them, especially if they have Mennonite connections) If there's a group of people like that near you, a cultural group like that, you can ask around in that group as well.
Good luck getting revenge, but do watch your back. I would be plotting so hard. Losing a tree like this is so upsetting, let alone losing one in this way.
Forget about r/treelaw and hire a lawyer and tree appraiser instead
The fact that it has sentimental family value is pushing that number way up
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20d
"I'm going to cut down this tree before it falls on my house."
Has to sell house to pay for tree
Tale as old as time… or as old as tree law.
Did they steal the wood too? Pecan wood is great for BBQ so somebody is probably selling the wood for cash.
They took some and left the rest
Keep an eye out on their property for the wood that was taken, if you see it on their property and can take photos it’ll strengthen your case
Not only did they trespass, cut down a tree that they had no right to, but they stole your personal property
Anything salvageable? Might be worth it to try to keep some and make something sentimental, or commission someone too. I milled up the remnants of my grandparents old table and made small picture frames, gave one to all my aunts/uncles/cousins on that side with an old picture of all of us.
That’s not a bad idea/giving them away. If I made something out of it and kept it, it’d just make me bitterly think about my dickhead neighbor every time I saw it.
Call the cops, not only can you sue them, you can charge them with theft if you can prove he took the wood
Legal action for negligence, trespass, trespass to chattles, conversion, etc.
You need to get an appraisal for the value of the tree. It will be a lot.
I'm assuming the value of the nut harvests would come into it too.
Typically you can do cost approach or income approach, but not both, so unless you selling the nuts and making a lot of money, not gonna be worth it, because a tree that size will be pretty high when done cost approach/reproduction/CCT
Is there a backstory? History of neighbors asking to cut it down?
It all started 3 years ago. The original next fort neighbors were a couple in there 80s. They loved the tree. After the death of the wife, the husband moved into his kids place. After that, this trailer trash family moved in and caused all kinds of ruckus. They have pulled a gun on me for having my dogs off leash in front yard, slashed my tire for parking slightly in there grass, you name it. They are just hateful people that no one likes. It has spiraled out of control the last few months. They knew this would crush us. The one thing that many generations have seen.
Good news is that you get a significant portion of their house(ironic isn’t it?) whenever they sell!
damn right!
get some cameras WTF!! you can buy a whole kit of 4 wireless cam for 200$USD~.
Have a camera facing the back yard, sadly the tree is in a back tucked away
no worry i understand its not possible to have cameras everywhere. i was mainly pointing out to the crazy criminals slashing your tires and making death threaths with guns.
- After they threatened multiple times to take it down. I would’ve had a trail cam up there.
So suing them into oblivion sounds like a service to the neighborhood, and yourself.
I’d recommend binge watching Fear Thy Neighbor and installing cameras, these people sound like the poster children for the stories on that show, and they gave you an avenue to actually get rid of them.
OP I mean this sincerely, we need updates and more details. PLEASE.
just got back on. Let me know if I left anything out
Straight murder
tree law!
Already on it!
You better be, you owe it to us all.
Post on local Facebook groups to find out who the arborist was. That cut is extremely high and was professionally done or your neighbour has a death wish trying that. Offer a reward coming forward based on the threat you will sue and find out who did it anyways. An arborist or contractor who did it shouldn't have been on your property, they may be liable for doing this. Offer an easy way out and issue the neighbour a letter from your lawyer. My neighbour comes on my property telling me not to cut trees down close to his backyard and he's a fucking idiot. Know where your property line is and respect it.
At least where I live there is a hefty fine is someone cuts down a tree on someone else’s property.
Sue them into oblivion.
Have you ever harvested and sold any of the nuts? Have those sales receipts that's lost future income to add to the suit.
It is most definitely time to sue
In general I find suing people- especially your neighbours- distasteful, however in this case I would say suing the pants off this asshole would be the only reasonable option.
I am astounded by the sheer assholery of this!!
I gasped. I am so sorry for you.
I’m sorry this happened, soul crushing. Poor tree!!! What an awful neighbor, people are so awful. 😢
❤️
Omg wtf my heart hurts for you. I would be going ape shit right now. I hope you sue the shit out of them
Demand that they REPLACE it with one the same size.
We are getting out dugs in a row to fuck this guy
Please keep us updated as this unfolds. I’m fascinated, and hoping you get your just desserts.
Pay an arborist to put together an assessment of the value of the tree and sue the guy for every penny of the valuation. You’ll be shocked how much that tree will be appraised for.
Check your laws.. no wonder he is denying. In my state.
B. Any person who (i) severs or removes any timber from the land of another without legal right or permission or (ii) authorizes or directs the severing or removal of timber or trees from the land of another without legal right or permission shall be liable to pay to the rightful owner of the timber three times the value of the timber on the stump and shall pay to the rightful owner of the property the reforestation costs incurred not to exceed $450 per acre, the costs of ascertaining the value of the timber, any directly associated legal costs, and reasonable attorney fees incurred by the owner of the timber as a result of the trespass. And § 55.1-2838. Larceny of timber; penalty. A. Any person who knowingly and willfully takes, steals, and removes from the lands of another any timber growing, standing, or lying on the lands is guilty of larceny. Any person so convicted shall be ordered to pay restitution calculated pursuant to § 55.1-2836.
Thats ground for a ass whoopin
Im mad for you about this. This is the type of shit that gets people killed. I’m not saying violence is ever the answer but I understand why people snap when something like this happens.
I would have the trunk cut and mill it down to make a beautiful piece of furniture you and your family could enjoy for years since someone decided to cut it down. Make pecan pie out of pecan tree. Sorry for your loss.
All pecan trees measuring over 24 inches in diameter are classified as heritage trees. Therefore, any pecan tree that meets this requirement cannot be removed from the landscape without an appropriate permit.
😔
Are you sure it’s not an oak tree? Blurry photo but that’s what it looks like. Sorry for your loss either way.
What a terrible situation. I hope somehow the remaining trunk falls through your neighbor's house.
That's not a pecan though. I'm thinking water oak, although the video isn't super clear.
You'll want to contact a Registered Consulting Arborist (American Society of Consulting Arborists) or a Board Certified Master Arborist (International Society of Arboriculture). Legal shit is outside the scope of a typical sales arborist/arborist rep.
Check other neighbor’s for cam footage
Well Texas has tree law and I’d find hardcore proof it was said neighbor and I’d own his ass!
You may not have a case if it’s on the Right away so I suggest you get plans of the house see how much property you actually own
In California it’s the value of the tree x 3 for intentional trespass to timber, plus fees.
Find a tree lawyer. We’re everywhere. The lawyer should have a contacts with tree appraisers who experience testifying in court.
Very often liability insurance covers it and the carriers don’t even put up a fuss (VERY unusual)
I bet that’s at least 30-40k. Don’t try to do it yourself.
pounding table TREE LAW TREE LAW TREE LAW
Check google maps street view if it’s visible it can give you good before documentation at the least!
It might also be a big stretch, but if the other investigation doesn’t pan out, you can look into buying satellite imagery previously taken over your house (can be expensive)
Fuckin demons are lucky this isn't the ol wild west... SMH
Best file a police report with those threatening texts.
And unless they had a chainsaw and the ability to truck off the removed tree bits, I bet you will be able to find the company that cut and removed it for them. And then it's a slam dunk for a criminal trespass, destruction of property then the civil suit to sue for damages.
Good luck and I'm sorry about your tree. She looked beautiful.
File a police report and call your insurance company. This is a property loss caused by someone's actions.
That’s at least a six figure mistake on the neighbors part right?
As the owner of a flushing large Pecan in my back yard I’m so sorry for your loss
That was an expensive choice on their part. I hope you have evidence.