Timber trespass in California is a tort, which is a civil wrong.
Here are some things you should know about timber trespass and neighbors in California.
Who Owns The Tree, You Or Your Neighbor?
First determine who owns the tree.
You determine tree ownership by where the trunk sits. See Civil Code § 833. Generally, it doesn’t matter where the branches or roots extend. Look at the trunk. If the trunk is on your property, then it’s your tree.
But if the trunk straddles the property line, then it’s a “common” tree and both you and your neighbor own it. See Civil Code § 834.
Understanding ownership is usually a prelude to a dispute about trimming or removal.
Can Your Neighbor Legally Touch Your Tree?
Under California law, every property owner has a limited self-help right to trim branches and roots that encroach across the property line, subject to three exceptions. First, the trimming must be limited to only the parts that cross the property line. Trim back to the property line, but no further. Second, the trimming shouldn’t injure or kill the tree. Third, the tree owner has no right to enter the neighboring property to perform the trimming without the neighbor’s permission. See Grandona vs. Lovdal (1886) 70 Cal. 161; Booska vs. Patel (1994) 24 Cal,App.4th 1786.
Timber trespass is what happens when your neighbor doesn’t follow those rules.
What Is Timber Trespass In California?
Timber trespass happens when someone enters your property and cuts, damages, or removes your trees without permission.
If your neighbor trims your tree past the property line or kills or injuries your tree or walks onto your property to trim the tree, that’s timber trespass.
See CACI 2002; Civil Code § 3346; CCP § 733.
How Much Can You Recover For Timber Trespass In California?
California has a three-tiered damages system. For willful and malicious trespass, you can get up to treble (3x) damages. For casual or involuntary trespass, you can get double (2x) damages. Double damages are mandatory. For trespass under claimed authority, actual damages only. See Civil Code § 3346; CCP § 733.
The damages multiplier (3x or 2x) applies to the full measure of damages. That means the timber value and the loss of aesthetics, shade, and even annoyance and discomfort damages.
How To Put A Dollar Amount On Timber Trespass?
Damages can include diminution in property value, replacement cost (including years of care until the replacement reaches original size), and lost aesthetic/functional value (shade, privacy screening, fruit). The “personal reasons exception” can allow recovery of repair costs even when they exceed diminution in value. If you have a genuine desire to repair or restore the property for personal reasons, then you can recover the cost of repair even if it exceeds the drop in market value, so long as those costs are reasonable. See CACI 3903F.
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