2023-09-02 04:00:00
Trees, noise, insults… The “small claims court” sees all the colors in matters of neighborhood. Here are some examples.
3 neighbor quibbles that will make you think twice regarding cutting your tree branches
1. A resident of a wooded neighborhood was sued by his neighbors because they thought there were too many trees on his property.
Jeffrey Angelo Zecchel and Mei-Chih Maggie Chien, of Saint-Lazare in Montérégie, said their neighbor Philip Joseph Stock had planted too many small trees near the edge of their yard. While some had been planted before the purchase of his house nearly 15 years ago, others were simply new shoots from mature trees, judge Florence Lucas ruled. The couple also sued their neighbor because he refused to cut down a tree considered dangerous.
Mr. Stock cut down the disputed tree before the hearing, hoping to avoid a lawsuit… which took place anyway, because his neighbors did not want to withdraw their complaint. He also pointed out in court that his neighbors’ lot is the only one that has no grass and very few trees.
Philip Stock’s yard, on the left, was rather wooded compared to his neighbours. photo filed in court
“Since the plaintiffs have chosen to live in a wooded environment, they must accept the normal inconveniences that result from it,” noted judge Florence Lucas, ordering them to reimburse $3,600 to their neighbor in compensation.
2. The owner of a maple tree whose branch damaged the neighbour’s cherry tree following a storm was ordered to pay more than $1,000 to his neighbor because of his negligence.
In the summer of 2017, the major storm that hit Lachine, where Philippe Widawski and Daniel Greham live, made headlines. A branch of Mr Greham’s Norwegian maple was then damaged extensively. ‘After that storm, whenever the weather was windy, the two pieces of the tree would rub once morest each other and crack. Mr. Widawski feared […] that an accident does not occur,” said judge Mélanie Dugré at the Montreal courthouse.
For a year, Mr. Widawski asked his neighbor for work to be done to cut the broken branch. The weather, however, took care of that before Mr. Greham. In August 2018, another storm hit the neighborhood, this time completely shattering the maple branch. The latter then crashed into Mr. Widawski’s cherry tree.
A branch of this Norwegian maple broke off following a severe storm in 2018. photo filed in court
Again, Mr Greham gave no sign of life when asked to call arborists to prune the problem tree. His neighbor therefore took care of it himself and spent more than $500 to repair the broken trees.
3. A Gatineau man who desperately wanted to see into his neighbour’s yard, but whose view was obstructed by a cedar hedge, took drastic measures by asking his son to butcher 45 of those conifers before sunrise. of the sun.
As soon as he arrived in 2017, Francis Beaulne received a visit from his neighbor Daniel Gendron, who wanted permission to enter his land to trim his cedar hedge. Mr. Gendron claimed in particular that cedars at such a height – regarding 10 feet – prevented him from seeing in his neighbour’s garden, which he wanted to remedy. Mr. Beaulne, who is the sole owner of the hedge, however, repeatedly refused this cut. In November 2019, Mr. Beaulne was awakened by Daniel Gendron’s son, Éric, who was cutting the hedge with pruning shears. In all, 45 cedars were butchered two feet.
Francis Beaulne’s cedar hedge has been butchered by two feet in some places. Photo provided by Francis Beaulne
At trial, Mr. Gendron and his wife denied “that they asked their son to make this cut, arguing that the latter would have done so of his own free will, potentially under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs”, can we read in the judgment rendered last June. His son admitted that he had had some mental health issues in the past, but that the situation came back under control in 2019. He even mentioned that his father told him, “Guys, go to work.”
Daniel and Éric Gendron were therefore ordered to pay Mr. Beaulne more than $11,000.
Three baffles that will make you appreciate your respectful and quiet neighbors
1. If every little creak makes you jump at night, maybe condo living isn’t for you. That’s what a Quebec woman learned the hard way when she was ordered to pay $5,000 to her neighbors upstairs.
The very evening of Catherine Landry’s move in 2016, her neighbor Isabel Tremblay advised her of soundproofing problems in the building and of the efforts she should make to ensure peace of mind in their duplex. There followed a long list of complaints: Ms. Landry made a racket when she moved, she walked on her heels while skipping, she mightn’t close the closet doors or activate the toilet flush at any what time…
During the three years that Mrs. Landry lived in this apartment with her child, her neighbor made many interventions to denounce the noise caused, in particular by knocking on the ceiling or by increasing the sound of the music. However, according to an expert report, the soundproofing of this duplex is typical of what is found in condominiums of the same type built in the early 2000s.
Ms. Tremblay’s recriminations were ultimately the source of Ms. Landry’s move in 2019 and her brother’s sale of the condo a year later.
2. Sued by his neighbor for a surveying issue, a couple from Drummondville won their case because the man in question had uttered racist insults to them during a spat.
Claude Bougie had decided to drag his neighbors Hélène Ducharme and Mehrez Hamida before Small Claims, because he believed that the couple had removed and moved survey markers between their properties. The couple, however, decided to sue their neighbor in turn, because he allegedly made racist remarks towards Mr. Hamida.
In 2020, following a visit from a surveyor, Mr. Bougie showed up on his neighbor’s property, accusing him of having moved a boundary marker. He then added that if he was not happy, Mr. Hamida “might return to his country”, can we read in the judgment rendered last July. “Making racist or discriminatory remarks violates the dignity of the person and, consequently, can also lead to the civil liability of the person who lends themselves to it,” said Judge Martin Tétreault, indicating that these words have no have no place in our society.
Mr. Bougie was therefore ordered to pay $1,500 to his neighbors for the damage suffered.
3. A couple sentenced to pay $12,500 now understands that it would have been important to think regarding the sleep of the neighbors before transforming their garage into a living space. parties nocturnal.
Since Manon Richard moved into her house in Sainte-Mélanie, in Lanaudière, in 2012, she has had to endure the impromptu concerts given in the garage of her neighbors Stéphane Meunier and Stéphanie Pelletier.
In order to receive his friends well, Mr. Meunier has fitted out his space to include musical instruments, a bar and a karaoke machine. He even gave him a name and an account on social networks: “Cabane chez Meu Meu”.
The upper floor of Stéphane Meunier and Stéphanie Pelletier’s garage has been transformed into a space to play music. Photo filed in court
If the parties ended around 11 p.m. initially, they then continued until the wee hours of the morning, once or twice a month. Over the years, Ms. Richard has filed several complaints with the police. His neighbors received tickets of up to $600. Mr. Meunier and Ms. Pelletier spent large sums to soundproof the garage, which the court said constitutes “both an admission that they are making too much noise and also a willingness to attempt to dampen it”. But that does not erase all the noise that Ms. Richard had to endure, explained judge Richard Landry in condemning his neighbors.
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