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Homeowner outraged as new neighbor destroys beloved property feature: 'You should absolutely sue him'

"The audacity."

"The audacity."

Photo Credit: Reddit

Trees are incredibly valuable for a neighborhood. They provide shade, privacy, oxygen, character, and beauty to our streets. 

Unfortunately, some homeowners do not see nature as a gift, but instead as a burden.

One unlucky homeowner arrived home one evening to find that their 60-year-old tree had been chopped down without their consent. 

They posted their story in the r/treelaw subreddit, asking for advice on how to fight the injustice.

"New landlord next door cut down a 60-year-old tree in our yard that was between our driveways," they explained

"This tree is on our property, and [they] had the audacity to say to us [that we] should be thanking [them]. [They] never knocked on our door, just blocked my driveway while I was at work."

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"The audacity."
Photo Credit: Reddit

The attached pictures show the remaining large stump of the tree between their properties.

Removing a tree from a property is a severe loss. Trees are necessary for combating the negative impacts of a warming planet, making them essential to the health of both humans and animals. 

Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air, and older trees store more carbon than the younger ones, according to The Nature Conservancy. They even filter out hazardous pollutants, such as those from dirty fuels and wildfire smoke, from the air.

Trees also improve mental and physical health, as time in nature has been shown to lower stress levels, as concluded by a study published in the journal Sustainable Earth. 

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Meanwhile, forests, or any collection of trees, help to cool surrounding areas. This is especially important as the planet's temperature continues to rise. Heat islands and heat waves exacerbate the situation, so trees are hugely beneficial in making places more comfortable to live.

Trees also provide habitats for numerous essential species, including the pollinators that are essential for the human food supply. 

When trees are cut down, local biodiversity can suffer, and animals will have to migrate to other spaces that are often foreign to them.

Redditors were quick to react in the comments with recommendations to lawyer up.

"You get an arborist to assess the value of the tree, then you sue the owner of the property who cut down your tree," one Redditor responded.

"You really should be consulting a lawyer on this, you should absolutely sue him," another commenter said. "For as much as you can. … Let him know that he can't get away with it so he doesn't do it again."

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