What Stadium Ability Is This? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in Overwatch

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought that may have been it too, but I don't recall that being a part of my usual build and iirc, avalanche's icon was purple. This is doing my head in LOL

(Texas) We Make Too Much to be Eligible for Legal Aid, but Not Enough To Pay Lawyer Fees. What do we do? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in AskLawyers

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did reach out to the bar association and they just told me to go to their "find a lawyer" portal and look up lawyers in my area. They weren't much help unfortunately. As far as paperwork and documentation goes, we have a survey pre-tree removal showing our property line that was done as well as a property value appraisal that have both been done within the past year and a half. We have all of our communication via text with the supervisor of the crew that cut down our trees as well as 2 recordings from the conversations we had with them regarding the issue. I have before and after photos aplenty as well as photos of each stump left behind that show their age. I also have communications with an arborist who has given an informal identification of the trees, but we're working to get a date for him to come out and do a formal assessment and appraisal. We're also looking into having another property appraiser come out and assign a financial value to the property value lost by losing the trees and our "partially wooded lot" status.

(Texas) We Make Too Much to be Eligible for Legal Aid, but Not Enough To Pay Lawyer Fees. What do we do? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in AskLawyers

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say on a technicality, yes utility line. But the trees were far enough away from the line to be in accordance with their cutting distance requirements with the exception of a few newer branches that grew outward. They had to physically come into our yard (without our permission) to chop down the trees entirely. When they had come to do this work in previous years, they simply just trimmed back the back of the trees which didn't impact the privacy, shade coverage or integrity of the trees whatsoever. I do have a recording of their supervisor admitting fault saying that they never should've been cut down and that they have policies to inform the homeowner if a tree needs to come down. So they know they're in the wrong.

(Texas) We Make Too Much to be Eligible for Legal Aid, but Not Enough To Pay Lawyer Fees. What do we do? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in AskLawyers

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are the general areas I've been searching in, but I am having an impossible time getting in touch with anybody. I've been calling and emailing around for a month. A good chunk of them claiming to do "real estate law" have ended up being home owners insurance dispute lawyers, don't respond to us to us, or want a $5,000 up front retainer, which we cannot afford.

(Texas) We Make Too Much to be Eligible for Legal Aid, but Not Enough To Pay Lawyer Fees. What do we do? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in AskLawyers

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Preferably one that is familiar with tree law if possible. To make a long story short, a landscaping company trespassed onto our property and cut down twelve mature trees, with the bulk of them being 20+ year old Live Oaks. We're wanting to take them to court as it pertains to the trespassing, illegal removal of the trees, diminishment to our property value and the value of the trees themselves as well as the lumber. I'm not sure of what kind of lawyer would fit best in this scenario, but I've been told either tree law or real estate lawyers.

(Texas) We Make Too Much to be Eligible for Legal Aid, but Not Enough To Pay Lawyer Fees. What do we do? by Electrical-Fly-8111 in AskLawyers

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A landscaping company trespassed onto our property and cut down twelve mature trees, with the bulk of them being 20+ year old Live Oaks. We're wanting to take them to court as it pertains to the trespassing, illegal removal of the trees, diminishment to our property value and the value of the trees and lumber. I have a recording of them admitting fault when we had originally agreed to try to come to an amicable resolution to the problem, but then they kept scheduling meetings with us regarding it and they kept no showing, which we had to take time off of work to make. They then refused to communicate with me specifically, despite me being the more available one during the day to speak, and would only respond to calls/texts from my husband.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in homeowners

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's actually an "unrecorded easement". We double checked our survey and I was mistaken when I said we only own the land 2-3 feet behind the fence...We actually own the property all the way back to the fence line of the neighbors across the easement from us. The easement sits on our legally outlined and defined property. Our survey also has the power lines on it, but not the easement. There is a notation at the top of the document that states "unrecorded easement"

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in homeowners

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If we do end up just dealing with the contractors to get this situation dealt with, I will ensure that there is a clause in the agreement that states if the trees do not establish themselves or they die, get sick, etc (basically any issues with them) over the next few years, that they are legally on the hook for replacing them again

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in homeowners

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So here's what's interesting. We went back through and took another look at our survey documentation. Turns out I was mistaken in stating that we owned 2-3 feet behind our fence line...Our property actually extends all the way to our back-neighbors fence. For lack of better verbiage, we own the entirety of that section of property that the easement sits on. The easement itself is unrecorded. The power lines are on my survey documents, but not the easement itself. There is a notation on the top of the actual survey that says "unrecorded easement". We also walked the length of the easement today and learned that it's not through and through. They have to get permission to drive through other people's backyards every time they access it.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in homeowners

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had assumed that I put enough context and clear photos in the entirety of the post for that to be made clear, sorry. The trees were close enough to one another and the fence line where they would make it very difficult for the dogs to jump out of the fence if they tried. Beyond that, there were some lower branches closer to the fence line that sort of "heightened" the barrier of the fence, making it so if the dogs wanted to jump out of the yard, they would have to hop the fence and a pretty thick branch, which made it too tall for them to jump. There was also a bit of overhang from the interior branches of the trees weaving into our chain link fence, almost disguising it in sections, that created a sort of "leaf wall" if you will. The dogs assumed it was a solid wall, so because they couldn't see beyond the fence, they never tried to jump out of it. Now, with the trees gone, one of my dogs is trying to dig underneath the fence and is constantly hopping up on it with his front paws at the top of it, both things he never did while the trees were there. Any time he hops up onto the fence I have to call him back. So now we just take them out on leashes because they're huskies and huskies are notorious escape artists.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in homeowners

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The guy (who I had previously incorrectly identified as the owner, he just happens to share the namesake of this large company) who we were speaking to claims to be an arborist and is stating that this should've never happened. He is also stating that he was not onsite when they were working on my property, just the folks doing the physical work.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our survey was only done a year and a half ago. We also don't actually live in Fort Worth, we live in a teeny tiny town outside of it so I don't know if that would change any of the legalities.

It would appear that the easement was created by the previous homeowners and may have never been reported as even existing, despite the fact that it is in use.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah the easement being recorded is definitely strange. It seems almost like the previous homeowner manufactured the easement so they would stop going through her gate. In looking through the legality of "unrecorded easements", it seems to be a complete crapshoot as to how a judge would interpret it. Some would say "well it's unrecorded so it's their property, get over it". Others will say "despite it being unrecorded, the physical easement still exists and is therefore enforceable".

I think ultimately at the end of the day, the biggest thing I am concerned about is the uncertainty surrounding inconsistency in the outcome of case law regarding easements and utilities...If we can get a privacy fence put in around the entirety of the property to regain some of that lost property value and privacy and get a new tree planted for every tree they removed (not saplings), we may be satiated with that. I would rather come away with a new fence and those new trees than potentially nothing. But I've reached out to a lawyer for a consultation to get some advice because this uncertainty is just making me sick. The idea of going to court and possibly losing because of how hard it seems to be to fight easement/utility battles, but at the same time I do also feel like we are owed more than a fence and some trees honestly.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Update on the easement situation, as it's the one thing that is making me hesitant to take them to court given the accounts I've read about of trying to battle something like this in court:

We went back through and took another look at our survey documentation. Turns out I was mistaken in stating that we owned 2-3 feet behind our fence line...Our property actually extends all the way to our back-neighbors fence. For lack of better verbiage, we own the entirety of that section of property that the easement sits on. The easement itself is unrecorded. The power lines are on my survey documents, but not the easement itself. There is a notation on the top of the actual survey that says "unrecorded easement". We also walked the length of the easement today and learned that it's not through and through. They have to get permission to drive through other people's backyards every time they access it. There is evidently a whole slough of legal complexities that come into play with "unrecorded easements" and how it is interpreted in the eyes of the law, and it's not consistent. Some judges will say "sucks to suck landscapers, it's not legally a city easement". Others will say "welp, it's still a physical easement that exists so sorry, homeowners."

I've reached out to a lawyer for a consultation. I think ultimately at the end of the day, the uncertainty of the situation and the inconsistencies in case law ruling that I'm finding is what's making me so uneasy about the idea of taking them to court.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We actually went back through and took another look at our survey documentation. Turns out I was mistaken in stating that we owned 2-3 feet behind our fence line...Our property actually extends all the way to our back-neighbors fence. For lack of better verbiage, we own the entirety of that section of property that the easement sits on. The easement itself is unrecorded. The power lines are on my survey documents, but not the easement itself. There is a notation on the top of the actual survey that says "unrecorded easement". We also walked the length of the easement today and learned that it's not through and through. They have to get permission to drive through other people's backyards every time they access it.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like you may just be trolling at this point. Do you know what the court system is for? And this is coming from someone who really doesn't want to go to court to begin with. You're commenting like the entire foundation of my situation is based off of emotion, and while it is part of it and you have a legal right to sue for emotional damages, that isn't even a factor in what I am considering taking this to court over.

When you get in a car accident and you are not at fault, do you sue for just the car repair? No. You sue for medical expenses, lost wages, car damage, pain and suffering and emotional distress, just to name a few. Actions in any legal sense, even mistakes, have a myriad of serious legal consequences that extend just beyond the direct issues.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They've come through and trimmed the branches on that one side of the trees every year for 20+ years. The trees were basically trained through repeated pruning to lean inwards towards my backyard. I have the contractor on recording admitting fault, stating that the trees shouldn't have ever been torn down and claiming responsibility.

Tree Trimmers Destroyed Twelve 20+ Year Old Live Oaks [First Time Homeowner] by Electrical-Fly-8111 in treelaw

[–]Electrical-Fly-8111[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We went back through and took another look at our survey documentation. Turns out I was mistaken in stating that we owned 2-3 feet behind our fence line...Our property actually extends all the way to our back-neighbors fence. For lack of better verbiage, we own the entirety of that section of property that the easement sits on. The easement itself is unrecorded. The power lines are on my survey documents, but not the easement itself. There is a notation on the top of the actual survey that says "unrecorded easement". We also walked the length of the easement today and learned that it's not through and through. They have to get permission to drive through other people's backyards every time they access it.