Brmorgan
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Hey all.
My dad was very upset today. I guess his neighbor had mentioned building a fence between them through the bush in behind their places because there had been problems between their respective dogs. The problem is, the neighbor never consulted with my dad regarding placement of the fence, determining the absolute lotline location, and alteration of any trees on or near the lotline.
So he comes home last night to find an enormous mess all the way down the lotline where they cleared the line to make room for the machine with the post pounder. Don't know yet if it was a Bobcat or similar or what. Anyway, apparently they pushed over, limbed, cut down, or otherwise scarred a whole bunch of trees on my dad's land. He says they even went out of their way onto HIS property to avoid trees on his neighbor's property. Not to mention the mess of all the dirt dug up and pushed around. They're all Douglas Fir, Paper Birch or Poplar trees ranging from very small up to maybe 10" diameter.
I'll be going over there tomorrow with my camera to document it for him. He really doesn't know where to proceed from here. He's already had a big pissing match with both the neighbor and the fencing crew. He's not really upset with the fencing crew because they were under the impression that the fenceline had already been discussed and agreed upon by both property owners. I would have thought that they would need to talk to the other owner and get permission in person. But apparently the head guy with the fencers had an attitude like it wasn't a big deal, because it was over the hill from the houses and kind-of in the "back 40" and not really usable property. Thing is, we selectively logged my dad's property almost 10 years ago to thin the trees out a bit and he left these trees for a reason. And the neighbor apparently offered to "plant some trees there". To which my dad replied that he wouldn't live to see them get 20 feet tall, much less the 50+ that some were. And I know that to have a 30+ foot tree TRANSPLANTED it can cost tens of thousands.
So how should this play out? I know a lot of you won't be familiar with Canadian laws in this area - heck, I have no clue. I do know that a guy my dad used to work with had his neighbor accidentally log over onto his property and the guy had to pay him something like $1000 for every stump he left. But this is beyond just the trees too. The fencing crew drove right over the wood AND steel property line stakes. I always thought it was illegal to disturb or move them, but it seems these fencers aren't the most professional. Dad was thinking of calling the cops out just to show them what had happened and to start a paper trail. And a lawyer will cost him a few bucks just for an hour consult much less starting a civil action.
Dad's not interested in getting a wad of money, but there has to be some sort of compensation for something like this. Is the onus here on the fencers for not getting express permission to disturb the other property, or on the neighbor for instructing them to do a job without himself first okaying it? The fencers told my dad they NEVER consult with the second property owner before a job. What do you all think?
Thanks guys.
PS - I know this isn't super relevant to the Chainsaw forum but it gets way more traffic
My dad was very upset today. I guess his neighbor had mentioned building a fence between them through the bush in behind their places because there had been problems between their respective dogs. The problem is, the neighbor never consulted with my dad regarding placement of the fence, determining the absolute lotline location, and alteration of any trees on or near the lotline.
So he comes home last night to find an enormous mess all the way down the lotline where they cleared the line to make room for the machine with the post pounder. Don't know yet if it was a Bobcat or similar or what. Anyway, apparently they pushed over, limbed, cut down, or otherwise scarred a whole bunch of trees on my dad's land. He says they even went out of their way onto HIS property to avoid trees on his neighbor's property. Not to mention the mess of all the dirt dug up and pushed around. They're all Douglas Fir, Paper Birch or Poplar trees ranging from very small up to maybe 10" diameter.
I'll be going over there tomorrow with my camera to document it for him. He really doesn't know where to proceed from here. He's already had a big pissing match with both the neighbor and the fencing crew. He's not really upset with the fencing crew because they were under the impression that the fenceline had already been discussed and agreed upon by both property owners. I would have thought that they would need to talk to the other owner and get permission in person. But apparently the head guy with the fencers had an attitude like it wasn't a big deal, because it was over the hill from the houses and kind-of in the "back 40" and not really usable property. Thing is, we selectively logged my dad's property almost 10 years ago to thin the trees out a bit and he left these trees for a reason. And the neighbor apparently offered to "plant some trees there". To which my dad replied that he wouldn't live to see them get 20 feet tall, much less the 50+ that some were. And I know that to have a 30+ foot tree TRANSPLANTED it can cost tens of thousands.
So how should this play out? I know a lot of you won't be familiar with Canadian laws in this area - heck, I have no clue. I do know that a guy my dad used to work with had his neighbor accidentally log over onto his property and the guy had to pay him something like $1000 for every stump he left. But this is beyond just the trees too. The fencing crew drove right over the wood AND steel property line stakes. I always thought it was illegal to disturb or move them, but it seems these fencers aren't the most professional. Dad was thinking of calling the cops out just to show them what had happened and to start a paper trail. And a lawyer will cost him a few bucks just for an hour consult much less starting a civil action.
Dad's not interested in getting a wad of money, but there has to be some sort of compensation for something like this. Is the onus here on the fencers for not getting express permission to disturb the other property, or on the neighbor for instructing them to do a job without himself first okaying it? The fencers told my dad they NEVER consult with the second property owner before a job. What do you all think?
Thanks guys.
PS - I know this isn't super relevant to the Chainsaw forum but it gets way more traffic
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