Largest tree cutting verdict. Homeowner returned from vacation to find 9 mature trees cut down via neighbors instruction

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.reddit.com/r/treelaw/comments/1ruqanb/jury_awards_largest_tree_cutting_verdict_in/


The plaintiff went to San Diego for a work trip for a few days in February 2024. While she was gone, a neighbor had Unlimbited Tree Service perform work on his property. He left a note in the plaintiff’s mailbox saying he intended to cut the trees down. He and the company made no other efforts to reach her, and she didn’t see the note until she returned and the trees were already cut down.

Many of the trees were mature, at over 30 inches in diameter. The money is enough to plant mature trees rather than saplings, a process that costs nearly $90,000 per tree, Skipper said.

“It boggles my mind that a licensed company would take such action without ever speaking with or receiving written permission from the property owner, my client,” Skipper wrote in a cease-and-desist letter to the neighbor and the company, calling their conduct “outrageous.”
“Any basic due diligence would have led Unlimbited to the conclusion that it needed to obtain my client’s consent.”

The plaintiff sued Unlimbited and her neighbor in January 2025 in Prince George’s County Circuit Court. Shortly before trial, the neighbor settled his claims and exited the lawsuit, with an insurance company paying $500,000, Skipper said. The company moved to reduce the verdict by that amount, to $433,000, and she consented. Because the tort was committed by two parties — the owner and the company — the jury had to decide the total damages suffered by the plaintiff, not the exact harm caused by the defendant, he said.

Chuck Preslipsky, the owner of Unlimbited, said that when his company contracted with the plaintiff’s neighbor, they believed the trees were his and that the two neighbors both wanted them removed.

[Disaffected]

1. Glad the idiots got charged.

But, you can transplant a 30" diameter tree?? That must take a huge tree spade.

[mopinko]

6. it takes a big machine.

occasionally someone is caring enough to move a tree instead of just destroy it. i’ve seen pics.
i doubt she’ll replace them w trees of the same size, but u can buy pretty big trees.
it’s the 1 time money can buy time.

[Collimator]

13. I saw this picture just a few hours ago.

From the article:

"In Japan, when a tree is in the way of construction, they relocate it instead of cutting it down.

The technique is called Nemawashi, which translates to “laying the groundwork.” Workers carefully dig through the soil by hand to find the tree’s root system. The roots are wrapped and bound, then the tree is lifted using cranes, inflatable platforms, wooden rollers, and tracks. It’s lowered into a new trench that’s been cleared of stones and debris. The process can take over a year.

Nemawashi is rooted in Japan’s Shinto tradition, which considers nature sacred. Trees are believed to be occupied by kami, or spirits. Trees that reach 100 years old become resting places for kodama, tree spirits that inspire veneration. Cutting down one of these trees would harm the kodama, creating an angry spirit or releasing a curse. This is why Japan invests heavily in tree relocation rather than removal."

[mopinko]

15. yeah, that's what i saw.

i was thinking it was a japanese thing. that figures.

[Disaffected]

17. Wow, that is impressive.

I dunno if that is available in NA but not hard to see where the $90K figure comes from.

[Collimator]

18. Despite the Japanese affection for technology. . .

. . . They really do still value traditional ways that are labor intensive.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. I've Seen It Done On A Municipal Golf Course....

...in the city where I grew up.
They moved 35 trees that averaged 40+ feet tall.
I'd guess 3.5' in diameter near the ground.
All but 2 trees survived. This was done in the late 80s, and those trees are still there, just 50 feet off the major thoroughfare that passes the park & golf course.
The machine that does the digging & moving is impressive!
Clamps around the truck about 4 & 10 feet above the ground. What look like 2 giant salad spoons dig up a huge root ball. Guys with chainsaws cut the extended roots.
Then the move it over to a predug hole. Set it in place and propped up the tree with four 4×4 box beams.
In a week or so, they removed the supports.
I would guess they watered & fertilized like mad for a while.
I watched them move 2 of the trees & it took under 90 minutes.
It was significantly cheaper to move those trees than it was to cut them down & buy new, much smaller trees where these were moved. Plus they ended up with 40', not 12' trees.
Pretty cool.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Now do the White House. NT

[pfitz59]

3. Very common crime

'You're blocking my view!'

[eppur_se_muova]

4. "... and I am SOOOOO privileged !" nt

[moniss]

5. Many years ago a stand of black walnut trees

out in the country here in Wisconsin was cut and hauled away while the owner was out of town for a holiday. Theft of trees for their wood is more common than we think.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

7. Someone watching and waiting

[dalton99a]

8. WTF

[calimary]

9. That hurts.

[intheflow]

20. Kind of hard to insist it was on the contracting person's property if

there's a freaking FENCE. WTAF??

[IbogaProject]

10. The penalty is to bring pain to the defendants

The only partial justice is to reblock the views or sunlight that prompted that neighbor to try and pull that crime.

[intheflow]

19. My guess is it has to do with autumn leaf pileup.

"If we just got rid of those trees, we wouldn't have to rake so much."

[ProfessorGAC]

22. Likely A Good Bet

There was a time when our next door neighbor kept telling us we should cut down our pin oak & sycamore because it dropped leaves in their yard.
When I told him it would be $8,000 (in the early 90s) and asked what % he would pay he backed off s nit.
But, he still complained that I should pick up the leaves each fall.
I told him that the trees were older than me, so I'm not responsible for them being there. And I can't control wind & gravity.
I told him there were 2 options. Do nothing, if he pays the whole cost for removal.
He never brought it up again.
He passed away several years ago, & his widow & my wife are friends so it's now a non-issue.
But, some people get really bugged by those leaves falling.

[IbogaProject]

11. Ooh that is a Levittown

Last edited Mon Mar 16, 2026, 12:24 AM - Edit history (1)

I grew up in a town he developed in NJ, I recognize the type of houses. [edit] It was Bowie Maryland built by Levitt.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

14. Those trees might have been planted when the town was developed

[IbogaProject]

16. Early 1960s

[littlemissmartypants]

12. Birds depend on trees for habitat and migration.

Who's going to get justice for them and the trees?

Pure evil is always closer than we think.