In the Buckeye State, if someone hurts or destroys a tree on your property, you can recover damages–either what you paid for the tree or what it would cost to replace it.
Here are some details from Nolo, a website that help consumers and small businesses find answers to everyday legal and business questions.
If your neighbor or someone else cuts down, removes, or damages a tree on private property without the owner’s permission, that person is required to compensate the tree owner. This recovery is available even if the damage was unintentional. If necessary, you can sue to enforce your rights.
What Counts as “Damage?”
To break the law, your neighbor doesn’t have to chop down your tree. It is enough to just impair the health of your tree. Your neighbor has the legal right to trim branches of your tree if they hang over the property line, for example, but if the trimming seriously injures your tree, your neighbor will be liable to you for the damage done.
Likewise, if your neighbor uses a chemical on his or her yard to destroy unwanted roots, and the chemical seeps onto your property and kills one of your trees, your neighbor can be liable.
What You Have to Prove in Order to Recover Damages
In general, you must meet two requirements in order to have a legal right to compensation for a damaged tree:
- Your property must be damaged. For instance, if a neighbor trims the part of your tree that hangs over the property line, making that part of the tree look hideous but not harming it in any way, you have no right to recovery. That’s because your property–the portion of the tree that’s on your side of the property line–is not damaged.
- The tree in question must not create an immediate danger to others. Diseased trees that threaten a neighboring property are not legally protected in the same way as healthy trees. In some circumstances, for example, if a dead tree is about to fall, a neighbor can even enter an owner’s property to prevent any harm.
How Much Can You Recover?
Your total dollar figure for tree damage or loss might include:
- The cost of replacing the tree, including the cost of removing debris and cleanup.
- Diminished property value. If you cannot replace the tree, then you can recover the decrease in your property value due to the loss of a valuable tree.
- Out-of-pocket costs. In most states, you can recover for what you reasonably spent trying to save an injured tree, or removing a dead one. These expenses might include appraisal costs, cleaning up debris, repairing the yard, or missed work time to deal with the tree damage.
- Aesthetic loss and mental anguish. A few courts have awarded damages to tree owners for aesthetic loss and mental anguish when highly-valued trees have been damaged or destroyed.
What if Your Insurance Covers Damaged Trees?
If your insurance compensates you for any part of the damaged or destroyed tree loss, you must subtract this amount from any other damage claim (in a lawsuit, for example), unless you are required to repay the insurance company.
Is Intentionally Harming Someone Else’s Tree a Crime?
According to the law firm Bridges, Jillisky, Streng, Weller & Gullifer, LLC, knowingly or recklessly destroying someone else’s property can result in a criminal damaging or endangering charge in Ohio. This is either a misdemeanor or a felony. The level of offense depends on what was damaged, and if any people could have been harmed as a result of your actions.
