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Two neighbours say another cut down a cherished cedar tree on their shared property line when they were out of the country
Owners of two adjacent homes in West Vancouver are embroiled in a lawsuit where plaintiffs allege one neighbour cut down a shared tree without consultation or permission.
The tree in question was allegedly a cherished ancient cedar tree that was between 50 and 60 feet tall, and was 30 feet wide.
Karen Dietz and John Morgan filed their notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court June 15.
In it, they claim neighbour David Stevenson hired arborist Nick Woods and Woods’ company, Treeline Management—all listed as lawsuit defendants—to cut down a tree that “straddled the property line” between Stevenson’s home, at 2270 Haywood Ave., and Dietz and Morgan’s home, at 2275 Gordon Ave., in December 2024.
“The plaintiffs were out of the country at the time, a fact known to all the defendants,” the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.
When the plaintiffs returned home, they claimed that they found the tree gone, except for a bare 16-18-foot-tall trunk.
“The tree was not unsafe and was not required to be cut such that it was reduced to a bare trunk,” the plaintiffs said.
The plaintiffs further claimed that the tree cutters “wilfully and intentionally entered onto [their] property, damaged the plaintiffs’ fence and garden and left behind large pieces of wood cut from the tree.”
An alternative scenario, they claimed, was that the tree cutters were negligent in damaging the plaintiffs’ fence and garden, and leaving behind large pieces of wood cut from the tree.
None of the defendants sought consent from the plaintiffs to enter their property and cut the tree, the plaintiffs said.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court. No response to the lawsuit has yet been filed but Business in Vancouver phoned Stevenson, who is an elected school trustee, to ask for his response. He declined to provide one.
BIV also emailed Treeline Management to ask for a response, but none arrived by press time.
The lawsuit cites the District of West Vancouver’s Tree Bylaw 4892, 2016, and claims that the regulation identifies the tree as being “protected.”
The plaintiffs alleged that Stevenson either wilfully or negligently failed to comply with the requirements of the bylaw and its permitting procedures.
The plaintiffs claimed that losing the tree means that they have lost the use and enjoyment of their land, as well as privacy and shade.
They also claimed that they lost the value of the tree itself, including its lumber. They then had to pay to clean up after the tree cutting to remediate the damaged area and to repair their fence and garden.
The plaintiffs did not specify exactly how much money they want as compensation, but they are seeking general, special, aggravated and punitive damages plus interest and costs.
They also want an injunction requiring the defendants to remove the tree trunk.
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