Homeowner Gives Tree Crew Access to Yard, Then Discovers Beloved Mulberry Gone

A homeowner gave a neighbor’s tree crew permission to enter the backyard and deal with branches and debris along the property line.

So, the homeowner was quite stunned when the yard’s entire mulberry tree was cut to the ground.

In a Sept. 9 Reddit post, homeowner @uberclaw (OP) said their neighbor had arranged for workers to clear growth from the OP’s trees that extended over the fence. The homeowner allowed the crew through the gate so they could access the area.

With over seven workers on the job, however, things moved quickly. By the time the homeowner realized the crew was working on the mulberry itself, @uberclaw said, the tree was already beyond saving.

Permission to Enter Was Not Permission to Remove

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Neighbors tree service came to clear growth of my trees over the fence to her side, took down my whole mulberry tree without asking… very upset, what should I do?
by
u/uberclaw in
treelaw

The Reddit user later clarified that they gave the crew permission to “clear debris and branches growing on her side.” Instead, they said, workers cut the mulberry flush to the ground.

“I was getting the kids ready for school and didnt [sic] realize they were in the backyard taking a tree down until they were nearly finished,” they explained.

Exactly how that happened is now disputed. According to the homeowner’s follow-up comments, the neighbor “insists it was a mistake,” while a worker from the tree company says the neighbor told the crew that the homeowners had approved the removal.

The homeowner says no such permission was given. They also noted that the neighbor had wanted the mulberry removed when the family first moved in, leaving them unsure whether the incident was simply a misunderstanding. In fact, @uberclaw says they are not ruling out “malicious intent.”

The Tree Was More Than a Few Overhanging Branches

Some commenters were surprisingly unsympathetic, with one user calling it “a trash tree” and urging @uberclaw to get over it. The homeowner had a fairly simple response: regardless of anyone else’s opinion of the species, it was their tree.

Other commenters urged the homeowner to document what remained and have the loss professionally assessed. One informed resource is the International Society of Arboriculture, which says a qualified tree professional can appraise damaged or destroyed landscape plants and estimate the financial value of a loss.

Exactly what legal remedies may be available would depend on where the homeowner lives, something the post does not disclose.