Bob’s Random Legal Wisdom: Tree Law

By Bob Anderton

------

Judging Trees

This summer more than 70 trees covering 3/4 of an acre in Seattle’s Colman Park were attacked with a chain saw.

Police suspected owners of homes in Mount Baker whose views were opened up by the cutting.

Eventually, they accused U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jerome Farris, whose property is next to the park.

According to the Judge’s lawyer, “If you’ve got a big lot, and you’ve got trees, you have to keep them trimmed and pruned.”

However, these trees were on park property. The park and the judge’s property were separated by a chain link fence.

Moreover, this trimming and pruning was described in the Seattle Times as trees that had been cut “repeatedly, with new growth hacked out of old stumps.”

The Parks Department estimated the damages at between $100,000 and half a million dollars.

Cutting Costs

Washington has had a law on the books since 1881 that makes those who cut trees on public grounds liable for three times the actual damages. In this case, that could put the judge on the hook for 1.5 million dollars.

There is an exception for “casual or involuntary” trespass, or if the person had “probable cause” to believe that the cutting occurred on one’s own land.

However, the fence separating the park property makes this a hard point to prove.

Other People’s Trees

Washington law generally allows people to clip someone else’s tree branches or roots that overhang onto their own property.

However, in the judge’s case, the trees were apparently overhanging into his private view over public property.

What if the trees really were on the judge’s property? If you want to stop neighbors from topping or otherwise butchering their own trees, the law doesn’t provide much help.

However, organizations like Plant Amnesty or the Department of Natural Resources provide some resources and education.

Your Own Trees

What about your own trees? If you have actual or “constructive knowledge” of a problem with a tree on your land, you have a duty to take corrective action.

“Constructive knowledge” means that ignorance is not bliss. You could be liable for damages if you should have known that your tree was dangerous.

Conclusions

None of this is rocket science. Don’t cut down other people’s trees.

If you have a tree that is about to fall on your neighbor’s house, you would be well advised to consult an arborist.

Content by Seattle Bicycle Injury Lawyer Bob Anderton,
Washington Attorney at Law


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Fine Print Explaination
The following information is intended to assist humans find Washington Bike Law via machine enabled searches. There is no hidden text.

Bike Lawyer Bob Anderton Washington State Practice Areas
bicycle injuries, personal injury, wrongful death, products liability cases, accidents, crashes and collisions involving bikes, bicycles, fixies, tandems, scooters, skateboards, pedestrians, wheelchairs, mopeds, motor scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, and even the dreaded SUV. Unsafe premises, unsafe places, unfair insurance practices, bad faith, court-approved settlement guardian ad litem in King County, Housing Justice Project.

Bike Lawyer Dave Catechi Washington State Practice Areas
bicycle injuries, personal injury, wrongful death, products liability cases, accidents, crashes and collisions involving bikes, bicycles, fixies, tandems, scooters, skateboards, pedestrians, wheelchairs, mopeds, motor scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, and even the dreaded SUV. Unsafe premises, unsafe places, unfair insurance practices, bad faith.

Bob Anderton, Attorney at Law, Dave Catechi, Attorney at law, Anderton Law Office Seattle Bike Lawyers Serve Washington State Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Columbia, Cowlitz, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan. Pacific, Pend Oreille, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman, and Yakima. Aberdeen, Airway Heights, Albion, Algona, Almira, Anacortes, Arlington, Asotin, Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Battle Ground, Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Bellingham, Benton City, Bingen, Black Diamond, Blaine, Bonney Lake, Bothell, Bremerton, Brewster, Bridgeport, Brier, Buckley, Bucoda, Burien, Burlington, Camas, Carbonado, Carnation, Cashmere, Castle Rock, Cathlamet, Centralia, Chehalis, Chelan, Cheney, Chewelah, Clarkston, Cle Elum, Clyde Hill, Colfax, College Place, Colton, Colville, Conconully, Concrete, Connell, Cosmopolis, Coulee City, Coulee Dam, Coupeville, Covington, Creston, Cusick, Darrington, Davenport, Dayton, Deer Park, Des Moines, DuPont, Duvall, East Wenatchee, Eatonville, Edgewood, Edmonds, Electric City, Ellensburg, Elma, Elmer City, Endicott, Entiat, Enumclaw, Ephrata, Everett, Everson, Fairfield, Farmington, Federal Way, Ferndale, Fife, Fircrest, Forks, Friday Harbor, Garfield, George, Gig Harbor, Gold Bar, Goldendale, Grand Coulee, Grandview, Granger, Granite Falls, Hamilton, Harrah, Harrington, Hartline, Hatton, Hoquiam, Hunts Point, Ilwaco, Index, Ione, Issaquah, Kahlotus, Kalama, Kelso, Kenmore, Kennewick, Kent, Kettle Falls, Kirkland, Kittitas, Krupp, La Center, La Conner, Lacey, LaCrosse, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Lamont, Langley, Latah, Leavenworth, Liberty Lake, Lind, Long Beach, Longview, Lyman, Lynden, Lynnwood, Mabton, Malden, Mansfield, Maple Valley, Marcus, Marysville, Mattawa, McCleary, Medical Lake, Medina, Mercer Island, Mesa, Metaline, Metaline Falls, Mill Creek, Millwood, Milton, Monroe, Montesano, Morton, Moses Lake, Mossyrock, Mount Vernon, Mountlake Terrace, Moxee, Mukilteo, Naches, Napavine, Nespelem, Newcastle, Newport, Nooksack, Normandy Park, North Bend, North Bonneville, Northport, Oak Harbor, Oakesdale, Oakville, Ocean Shores, Odessa, Okanogan, Olympia, Omak, Oroville, Orting, Othello, Pacific, Palouse, Pasco, Pateros, Pe Ell, Pomeroy, Port Angeles, Port Orchard, Port Townsend, Poulsbo, Prescott, Prosser, Pullman, Puyallup, Quincy, Rainier, Raymond, Reardan, Redmond, Renton, Republic, Richland, Ridgefield, Ritzville, Riverside, Rock Island, Rockford, Rosalia, Roslyn, Roy, Royal City, Ruston, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Sedro-Woolley, Selah, Sequim, Shelton, Shoreline, Skykomish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Soap Lake, South Bend, South Cle Elum, South Prairie, Spangle, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Sprague, Springdale, St. John, Stanwood, Starbuck, Steilacoom, Stevenson, Sultan, Sumas, Sumner, Sunnyside, Tacoma, Tekoa, Tenino, Tieton, Toledo, Tonasket, Toppenish, Tukwila, Tumwater, Twisp, Union Gap, Uniontown, University Place, Vader, Vancouver, Waitsburg, Walla Walla, Wapato, Warden, Washougal, Washtucna, Waterville, Waverly, Wenatchee, West Richland, Westport, White Salmon, Wilbur, Wilkeson, Wilson Creek, Winlock, Winthrop, Woodinville, Woodland, Woodway, Yacolt, Yakima, Yarrow Point, Yelm, Zillah, and perhaps a few others.

Content Alternative Spellings
solistitur, solistitor, solister, solicitor, solicitors, barrister, barristers, barister, baristur, baristir, barristir, barristirs, barristur, judgement, judgements, barrester, leegal, leagal, leegel, leegal, clame, tryal, attourney, atourney, atourny, attourny, attornies, attornys, atturnies, lowyers, laywers, attourneys, attorneyship, lowyer, laywer, atturney, atturneys, lowyer, atorney, atorneys, aturny, atorny, legal advise, attroney, aawyres, exquire, esquire.

Site Content
personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, negligence, negligent, negligent conduct, fault, no-fault, at-fault, reckless, recklessness, outrage, strict liability, injured, disabled, disability, killed, maimed, hurt, fractured, wage loss, property damage, non-economic damages, economic damages, general damages, pain and suffering, special damages, plaintiff's personal injury, insurance, UIM, uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist, UIM, accident, accidents, crash, crashes, collide, collisions, bike, bikes, bicycle, bicycles, bicycling, biker, bikers, cycles, cycling, cyclist, cycle messengers, bike messengers, bike messenger, fixed-gear, fixie, fixed gear, mountain bike, track bike, cross bike, commuter bike, randonneurs, tandem bike, scooters, skateboards, pedestrians, wheelchairs, mopeds, motor scooters, motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, trains, trams, boats, planes, ships, SUVs, rules of the road, sidewalks, parking lots, stairs, crosswalks, bike path, bike trail, bike paths, bike trails, sharrow, share the road, physically separated bike path, METRO, Burke-Gillman Trail, Duwamish Trail, Chief Sealth Trail, Interurban Trail, Myrtle Edwards/Elliott Bay Trail, Ship Canal Trail, Alki Trail, Bicycle Master Plan, Bicycle Advisory Board, Urban Trails, door, doored, doring, intersection, cross walk, cross-walk, zebra, yield, stop, T-bone, side-swipe, collide, police, unsafe places, premises liability, bad faith, unfair insurance practices, dog bites, litigation, trial, trial lawyer, arbitration, mediation, alternative dispute resolution, negotiations, settlement guardian ad litem, Washington bike law, Seattle bicycle accident attorney, Seattle bicycle injury lawyer.