Tree Law / Damages to your trees by someone else – St. Augustine

Beautiful trees are hard to replace. There is something about those big trees your kids climbed for hours and hours long ago. The kids are now grown and gone and by the   negligence of someone else your beautiful trees are now gone. Case in pointe. As we now read about this possibility we have a case going on in Polk County where a developer came in and apparently needed to get to a certain area to prepare to build a house trespassed across a fence line pushing trees down to build a new home on adjacent property. The beautiful oaks that once existed now are gone as well as the oaks left standing were damaged to a point that after approximately 5 years they now are dead or dying from heavy equipment working around the trees that were left standing. One side of the property that was not disturbed have healthy trees, however the side that the equipment went on have the majority of the oaks dying or already dead. A terrible mistake by the developer who trespassed to get the home built next door. The landowners kids that are now grown have children that will miss the opportunity to climb the great oaks that mom or dad climbed as a child.

How would one measure the loss?  (1) The resulting depreciation in the value of the land on which the trees stood; (2) the cost replacing the destroyed or injured trees or restoring the premises on which the trees stood to their previous condition; (3) the value of the injured or destroyed trees themselves; and, (4) the resulting loss of aesthetic value or the resulting deprivation of the comfort and convenience which the trees provided the landowner. Let’s compare a previous case on the books.

In Thatcher v. Lane Construction Co. an action was brought for damages inflicted to the plantiffs’ lot by the defendents’ removal of trees and underbrush. The court in Thatcher held that the general rule which states that the measure of damages for injury to the real estate shall not exceed the difference in market value before and immediately after the injury is not an arbitrary or exact formula to be applied to every case without regard to whether its application would compensate the injured party fully for losses sustained. The court further held that where the presence of trees was essential to the planned use of the property as a homesite in accordance with the taste and wishes of its owner, where not unreasonable, the owner could be awarded as damages the fair cost of restoring the owner’s land to a reasonable approximation of its former land condition. In accordance with Thatcher, it would seem that the courts which hold that the proper measure of damages for the destruction of or injury to the trees is the difference in the value of the land just before and just after the injury, such courts also recognize factors other than the contemplated use of the land in assessing the depreciation in the value of the land.

Although various measures have been applied by the courts where damages have been sought for the destruction of or injury to trees, it is quite apparent from the courts’ opinions that the prevailing view is to assess damage based on the resulting depreciation in the value of the land on which the trees stood.

Trees, plants as well as sod all add value. This article discusses how trees add value to your St Augustine landscape. So the next time you contemplate taking out that big tree think about how much you could decrease the value of your property and think about who’s tree you are contemplating on taking out. It may cost you more than you think.

The Landscape Doctor – August 10,  2011- st Augustine tree care.