Full question:
I HAVE SEVERAL TREES, SOME WERE PLANTED, 2 CAME UP ON THE FENCE LINE BY THEMSELVES. MY NEIGHBOR SAYS THEY ARE CONSIDERED 'NO GOOD' TREES. ANYWAY, THEY GREW FOR APPROXIMATELY 25 YEARS.THEY ARE FULL GROWN AND PROVIDE NICE SHADE FROM THE WESTERN SETTING SUN. THEY ARE THE ONLY TREES I HAVE TO THE WEST. IT'S HOT IN SUMMER HERE AND THEY SHADE MY DOG YARD AND A HORSE PEN. I HAVE A HORSE RANCH 'BUSSINESS'. I DO NOT HOWEVER HAVE A HORSE IN THAT PEN AT THIS TIME. THESE TREES TRUNKS HAVE GROWN OVER...ABOVE GROUND... ACROSS WHAT MY NEIGHBOR SAYS IS HER BOUNDARY LINE, AND I BELIEVE IT IS OR VERY CLOSE. THERE WAS AN OLD FENCE THERE, AND THE TREES HAVE GROWN AROUND THE OLD FENCE POST,WITH ABOUT HALF OF THE POST SHOWING. SOME OF THE ROOTS, ON ONE TREE ESPECIALLY, HAVE RUN OVER TO HER YARD. ONE HAS RUN ABOUT 2 FEET AND ITS HARD FOR HER TO MOW AROUND, BUT CUTTING THAT ROOT WOULD PROBABLY KILL THAT TREE. THIS IS ONE OF THE 'NO GOOD' TREES. ALL EXCEPT ONE TREE REMAINS ENTIRELY ON MY PROPERTY SHE WANTS TO CUT THEM ALL DOWN, EXCEPT THE ONE SHE THINKS IS MINE AND PUT UP A FENCE TO HIDE THE LIMBS AND WEEDS THAT GROW THERE. YOU SEE I MOVED OVER ABOUT SIX FEET AND PUT UP A PRIVACY FENCE FOR THE BACK OF MY DOG YARD AND HORSE PEN, AND THERE IS A PHONE BOX OR SOMETHING THAT THE CITY SAID HAD TO BE WHERE THEY COULD GET ACCESS TO, WHICH THEY HAVE NEVER DONE, BUT I AM PARTICULAR ABOUT MY DOGS, ROTTWEILERS AND DOBERMANS AND RESCUED MIXES, AND DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE IN AND OUT OF MY DOG OR PEN. SO I HAD TO PUT UP A FENCE ANYWAY, SO I JUST MOVED IT TO WHERE NO ONE WOULD BE BOTHERING MY ANIMALS. SO THERE IS A LITTLE LANE BEHIND MY PRIVACY FENCE,WHICH I THOUGHT WASN'T AS GROWN UP AS IT HAD BECOME. BUT MY HUSBAND PASSED AWAY 2 YEARS AGO, AND I HAD OUR YARD GUY GO BACK THERE AND PICK UP AND CLEAN UP THE FALLEN BRANCHES AND SUCH AND NOW IT LOOKS GOOD.I TALKED TO HER YESTERDAY AND TOLD HER I DIDN'T KNOW MY HUSBAND HAD JUST LEFT IT TO GROW AND THAT I WAS GOING TO HAVE MY GUY BACK THERE EVERY TWO WEEKS TO PICK UP AND MOW AND NOT LET IT GO AGAIN. THIS WAS WHAT SHE HAD SAID A FEW MONTHS AGO THE REASON FOR THEM TO PUT UP A FENCE,TO HIDE THE DEBRIS. SHE DIDN'T CARE. SHE SAID SHE WAS TIRED OF PICKING UP LIMBS, I TOLD HER I WOULD HELP WITH THAT,I WOULD GET A PRUNER AND TAKE OFF ALL BRANCHES ON EACH TREE AIMED IN HER YARD, STILL DIDN'T CARE... SHE SAID ANYTHING ON HER PROPERTY SHE HAD THE RIGHT TO CUT DOWN AND AS FAR AS SHE COULD SEE I HAD ONLY ONE TREE. SO SHE PLANS TO CUT THE TREES SOMETIMES THIS SUMMER I'D SAY, WE TALKED FOR AWHILE AND I AM NICE TO HER, BUT HER HUSBAND ALSO HAS A BAD REPUTATION FOR STARTING CRAP IN THIS LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD, OVER NOTHING! EXAMPLE...THEY HAVE A LARGE YARD AND A NEIGHBORS DOG POOPED IN IT A COUPLE OF TIMES AND SHE WANTED THE DOG GONE OR DEAD! HOWEVER I BELIEVE IN TRYING TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR, WE ARE FRIENDLY, TALK, AND DO NOT ARGUE. I JUST CHANGE THE SUBJECT AND GO ON. NOW I HAVE A FRIEND THAT SAID A NEIGHBOR OF HERS WANTED A TREE CUT DOWN THAT WAS DOING THE SAME THING. THIS WAS SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AND SHE COULD NOT CUT IT. THEY CAME OUT AND SURVEYED THE LAND AND MEASURED THE TREE... AND SAID MORE OF THE TREE WAS ON THE OTHER ONES LAND AND IT BELONGED TO THEM AND THEY COULD NOT REMOVE IT. SO I HAD HOPE! NOW I HAVE SEARCHED ALL OVER THE WEB TO GET TREE LAWS BUT NOT FOR INDIVIDUAL STATES. I READ ABOUT THE 'BOUNDARY TREE' GROWING ON THE LINE OF 2 OR MORE PARTIES AND CANNOT BE REMOVED WITHOUT AGREEMENT FROM ALL PARTIES. I READ WHERE YOU CAN CUT LIMBS OFF A TREE BUT NOT IF ITS GOING TO KILL OR CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE TREE. IF THE ROOTS OF 2 OF THESE TREES WERE TO BE CUT WAY BACK I THINK THE TREES WOULD DIE. CAN YOU HELP ME DETERMINE MY LEGAL RIGHTS TO THESE TREES? AND IF SHE CUTS THEM WHAT MONETARY VALUE THEY WOULD HAVE? OR POISONS THEM? I ALREADY PLAYED THE 'GREEN' CARD, GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH,AS WE LIVE WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF TRAFFIC, AND ITS JUST GETTING WORSE...ALSO THEY ARE AT THE BACK OF HER YARD AND NOT NEXT TO ANY STRUCTURES, UNLESS A FORCE OF NATURE BROUGHT THE WHOLE TREE DOWN. NOT NEXT TO POWER LINES OR PHONE, THEY ARE UNDERGROUND. SO IF I KEEP IT CLEAN, WHICH SHE SAID HER HUSBAND WANTED TO DO ,BUT SHE SAID HELL NO I'M NOT CLEANING WHATS NOT MINE....SHE TOLD ME THIS YESTERDAY, AND IT WOULD BE REALLY EASY FOR HER NOW THAT ITS CLEAN, ITS NOT MUCH YARD. SO I HOPE YOU GET THE JEST OF IT, I AM DEALING WITH SOME NOT SO GOOD NEIGHBORS, AND I NEED SOMETHING I CAN THROW AT HER IF SHE KILLS MY TREES, MONEY HITS THEM THE HARDEST, LIKE ALL OF US THESE DAYS...ARE THERE DIFFERENT VALUES FOR DIFFERENT TREES? JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T PLANT IT, DOES IT MAKE IT'S SHADE ANY LESS VALUABLE. ALSO AS THE SUN IS SETTING THE SHADE HITS MY HOUSE AND HELPS COOL OFF THE WEST ROOMS. I WOULDN'T FIGHT SO HARD IF IT WEREN'T THE HOT WESTERN SUN AND THE ONLY DARN TREES I HAVE ON THAT SIDE. BESIDE THE FACT THAT THEY ARE MOSTLY ON MY LAND!
- Category: Real Property
- Subcategory: Encroachment
- Date:
- State: Louisiana
Answer:
A landowner has a duty to prevent nuisances which might adversely affect the property of an adjoining landowner. A nuisance is a substantial interference with the right to use and enjoy land, which may be intentional, negligent or ultra hazardous in origin, and must be a result of a defendant's activity. If a nuisance interferes with another person's quiet or peaceful or pleasant use of his/her property, it may be the basis for a lawsuit for damages and/or an injunction ordering the person or entity causing the nuisance to stop or limit the activity. Abatement of a nuisance may involve elimination of a nuisance by removal, repair, rehabilitation or demolition. Liability to an adjoining landowner for injuries resulting from the improper use of one's property has been founded upon the legal theory of nuisance.
Health codes, local ordinances, and nuisance laws may prohibit unmaintained yards. The encroachment of a tree on the land of an adjoining landowner causing damage could be held to be a nuisance and result in damages against the landowner on which the tree was located. A landowner is generally held to the duty of common prudence in maintaining trees on his or her property in such a way as to prevent injury to his or her neighbor's property. Encroaching trees and plants may be regarded as a nuisance when they cause actual harm or pose an imminent danger of actual harm to adjoining property. In such a case, the owner of the tree may be held responsible for harm caused by it, and may also be required to cut back the encroaching branches or roots, assuming the encroaching vegetation constitutes a nuisance. Real damage must be shown to result from the encroaching tree and leaves.
Generally, however, in cases where trees belonging to one property owner fall on and damage or destroy adjacent property, the tree owner is only responsible for damage if some failure to maintain the tree contributed to the damage. If the damage was solely the result of a thunderstorm or act of God, the tree owner will not be responsible, as the damage could not have been foreseen. If a tree limb appeared precarious and the owner failed to maintain the tree after warnings, the owner may well be responsible for resulting damage when a storm causes the limb to fall. If, however, the tree was well maintained and a storm causes a tree limb to crash into a neighbor's roof, the tree owner is not responsible. If the tree owner allows the tree to grow so that it uproots the fence, it would be considered an encroachment onto the adjacent property. In that instance, the tree owner would be required to remove the offending tree. A boundary tree is one planted on the boundary line itself and should not be removed without mutual agreement. Leaves which fall off and end up on adjacent property are considered a natural occurrence and are the responsibility of the landowner on whose property they ultimately come to rest.
Property owners in every state have the right to cut off branches and roots that stray into their property, in most cases this is the only help that is provided by the law, even when damage from a tree is substantial. A property owner who finds a neighbor's tree encroaching must first warn or give notice to the tree owner prior to commencing work and give the tree owner the chance to correct the problem. If the tree owner does nothing, the tree can still be trimmed. As a general rule, a property owner who trims an encroaching tree belonging to a neighbor can trim only up to the boundary line and must obtain permission to enter the tree owner's property, unless the limbs threaten to cause imminent and grave harm. Additionally, the property owner cannot cut the entire tree down and cannot destroy the structural integrity or the cosmetic symmetry and appeal of a tree by improper trimming. Local laws should be consulted for applicable requirements in your area.
The following are Louisiana statutes:
Art. 684. Enclosures
Alandowner has the right to enclose his land.
Art. 685. Common fences
A fence on a boundary is presumed to be common unless there is
proof to the contrary.
When adjoining lands are enclosed, a landowner may compel his neighbors
to contribute to the expense of making and repairing common fences by
which the respective lands are separated.
When adjoining lands are not enclosed, a landowner may compel his
neighbors to contribute to the expense of making and repairing common
fences only as prescribed by local ordinances.
Art. 687. Trees, bushes, and plants on the boundary
Trees, bushes, and plants on the boundary are presumed to be common
unless there be proof to the contrary.
An adjoining owner has the right to demand the removal of trees,
bushes, or plants on the boundary that interfere with the enjoyment of
his estate, but he must bear the expense of removal.
Art. 688. Branches or roots of trees, bushes, or plants on neighboring
property
A landowner has the right to demand that the branches or roots of a
neighbor's trees, bushes, or plants, that extend over or into his
property be trimmed at the expense of the neighbor.
A landowner does not have this right if the roots or branches do not
interfere with the enjoyment of his property.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
