Desktop Review: Gretchen Gallo and Bad Neighbors

November 10, 2020

Desktop Review: Gretchen Gallo and Bad Neighbors This desktop review came from the legal department of an insurance company. The matter was rooted in the claimant whose driveway and swimming pool were being damaged by the roots of a neighbor’s oak tree. Serious damages … think six figures. The neighbor did, in fact, own the […]

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A Misunderstood Common Law Privilege

March 5, 2020

There 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 […]

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The Expert Witness on a Litigation Team

April 22, 2019

One of the most important components of an attorney’s litigation team is the expert witness. An attorney going into a court without the best expert is like a solider going to battle without a rifle. And so it came to pass in a federal courthouse some time ago that a black limousine pulled up in […]

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Ten Commandments (Recommendations) of Settling Tree Claims

November 26, 2018

Across my desk came the assignment for the insured claim of irreparably damaging a protected tree during construction. It seems as though the construction personnel, shall we say, drifted across the tree barricades and smacked a protected tree but good. The government arborist cited code violations and a six-figure number for mitigation. There were pictures. […]

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