Tree preservation: Different things to different people. If you are a builder or a developer, tree preservation pretty much equates to not knocking the tree down during development. If you are a homeowner, then tree preservation takes on a more feng shui application. The utility of doing it well, doing what’s right, and doing it […]
Author: Susan Rooks
Taking the Mystery Out of Tree and Landscape Claims
March 26, 2020Taking the mystery out of tree and landscape claims can be difficult! If you have had a tree or landscape claim come across your desk, you know the empty feeling associated with wondering just how the matter will be resolved. If only it were a car or a home, life would be so much easier. […]
A Misunderstood Common Law Privilege
March 5, 2020There is a misunderstood common law privilege that permits a landowner to cut encroaching tree and plant parts extending onto and into his property from a neighbor’s property. However, that action does not extend to conduct causing damage to the neighboring property. There is a privilege, but it is not absolute. The privilege is not […]
Tree Codes: Death, Injuries and Unintended Consequences.
January 21, 2020Tree codes: death, injuries, and unintended consequences are a fact of life for arborists! I can recall to this day precisely where I was and what I was doing when I first heard the news. Unbelievable as it was. Stunned. Intellectually frozen in my thinking. The government was going to require that a permit be […]
The Bill of Rights: Valuation vs Land Use
January 11, 2020The Bill of Rights: Valuation vs Land Use Few of us have read the U.S. Bill of Rights, which is quite understandable. However, the last 12 words of Article 5 have shaped our nation and introduced a niche legal area of the law known as condemnation or eminent domain. “… Nor shall private property be […]
Tree Failures and Wrongful Death Claims
December 24, 2019Tree failures and wrongful death and landscape claims typically fall into the category of valuations. A tree or landscape was damaged, and somebody wants to be paid. And there is much to be considered regarding the valuation of trees and landscapes, which goes to a different level if the tree failure caused personal injury or […]
Is Customer Service Dead? Not in This Small Town!
October 31, 2019Is customer service dead? Not in Old Town, Florida! Population of about 6,000. Located about two hours south of the Georgia/Florida state line. As you approach the only intersection in this small town, turn right and proceed 11 miles for the best hamburger in town. Turn left and approximately two football fields down the road […]
Expert Witnesses and Attorneys: Anger Isn’t Good
October 30, 2019How to Make an Attorney Angry: The Seven Deadly Sins I have noted over the years and in close to 1000 litigated assignments I have been named an expert witness on, all attorneys have melting points – negative or angry reactions to actions of their expert witnesses. As is almost always the case in life, […]
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. Trees and Neighbor Disputes.
September 25, 2019As the old saying goes, good fences make good neighbors. I’m not an attorney and certainly not qualified to give legal advice. However, after scores of litigated cases where I served as an expert witness, I can offer some significant take-home lessons for anyone involved with a neighbor who is a poor steward of their […]
Eminent Domain Takings: New Florida Formula
September 3, 2019In the early 2000s , I received a telephone call from one of the nation’s leading eminent domain attorneys. It was a call that arborists only dream of getting, a call that started my fierce defense of Article 5 of the Bill of Rights. A call that spurred me to have my career revolve around […]