Tree trimming neighbour faces costly judgment.
A recent decision out of our Supreme Court answers the question: can I trim my neighbour’s trees from blocking my view? The answer: not without permission.
The parties in this case were neighbours, residing at adjacent properties in West Vancouver. Following the completion of the Defendant’s newly constructed home, the Plaintiff, Ms. Minicucci, felt that her property lacked privacy. She installed eight 25-foot cedars, and twenty 10-foot cedars along her property line between the parties’ homes.
The defendant, Mr. Liu, advised Ms. Minicucci that the cedars were blocking the defendants’ view, and asked for permission to trim them. Permission to do so was denied, and Mr. Minicucci asked Mr. Liu not to take any action involving the cedars.
When the Plaintiffs were away, however, the defendants did, in fact, top the trees.
The court found that by topping the trees, they would now tend to grow more “outward than upward”, affecting the property’s esthetics. The Plaintiffs had experienced stress and anxiety related to the incident, and lost some of the benefit of privacy that had been provided by the trees (though this loss was transitory as the trees had grown again by the time of trial). For this, the Court awarded $17,000 in general damages. The Court also awarded an additional $30,000 in punitive damages, as deterrence against this type of conduct.
A permanent injunction was also granted, preventing the defendants from entering upon the plaintiff’s property, or interfering with trees and other objects thereupon.
The defendant’s counterclaim related to fumes from a boiler discharge, and invasion of privacy associated with two outdoor surveillance cameras were dismissed.
Citation: Minicucci v. Liu, 2021 BCSC 1640
https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2021/2021bcsc1640/2021bcsc1640.html?resultIndex=1
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