Neighbour threw pile of leaves from my tree into my garden Can I legally return them?

Theres a few funny characters on this site for sure. Im not one of them. If people cant answer my query and stay on topic they need to begone. I'm not in a bad temper. Stop making character judgements and start making legal ones.

"All cuttings must be given back to the owner of the tree, or at least offered back. If the owner of the tree doesn’t want the cuttings, they must be disposed of in a responsible way and should not be left in the tree owner’s property without permission."

[broken link removed]

Tree Council may be able to provide the legal reference although you may need to look for a 'Hedge Council'?

@bullworth

The nub of this is that your tree is clearly irritating your neighbour considerably.

That is called nuisance.

You on the other hand feel that there has been unlawful trespass - and that is triable per se - in other words you do not have to prove damage.

If you want to bring this to head:

Issue a summons under the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851.

Information can be laid before a District Court Judge on an ex parte and can be done by you.

If you have all your facts then you will find out soon enough what the story is.

I would predict that the Judge might tell you that you have an arguable case but your neighbours potential defence would make the outcome of this unpredictable - as we have only your side to go on.

His tale might be such that many hints have been given to you to cut the branches back - but you are not listening (and some here might be sympathetic to your neighbour on that front). On the other hand he may have said nothing and made no attempt to contact you.

The judge will be a little bemsued as to why you have not attempted some sort of contact but if you are persistent he may let this go forward. I think there are in fact two different complaints here and you might er not win. A simple strategy is to cut the branches. A longer strategy is to communicate with your neighbours as you may need them in the future.

Cutting and branches are not leaves though. So doesn't really apply here.

That would seem to only applies if there overhanging a neighbours boundary.

Bulworth
Calm down. You won't get legal advice here-just opinions. Demanding it or slating people for their opinion is not going to help getting these opinions. Best talk to your neighbour.
If you want legal advice:case law - go to a solicitor.

Forums threads are much like leaves. They go everywhere.

I feel Bullworth is entitled to a simple answer or a comment. While the issue may appear trivial to some i can well understand how a person might feel if a bundle of say rotten leaves were just dumped over the wall. Little bit of intrusion comes to mind.

ThankYou Dewdrop. All the speculation so far has been groundless. I have been a model neighbour. Branches are cut. Everything is spotless. I have thrown back balls, miscellaneous items and toys for years. I have even quietly disposed of items their kids would have thrown in such as a long length of carpet cardboard innertube etc. However my trees were there before the neighbour moved in. You cant just collect garbage and throw it over someones wall when they are away and have already planted and made plans and put work in etc. Can you ? Trees are a part of nature and a fact of life.

Any poster may be "entitled to a simple answer or comment" but posters would perhaps elicit more informative responses if they were more polite and less sarcastic.

No poster can expect (especially not demand) an authoritative legal opinion -including from a lawyer -unless full facts are given - which they were not in this thread.
For example, only in the 30th post does Bullworth state that branches are cut. I assume this means that branches over the neighbour's garden which is a relevant but tardy piece of information.

Bullworth did received many comments ,most from long-established posters ("the funny characters" that Bullworth mentions?) who tried to advise on the human aspect of the problem -not only the legal aspect.

As facts start coming out it would appear that Bullworth's neighbour did act unreasonably -and perhaps illegally. But if Bullworth were to present his case in the manner displayed on this thread I'm uncertain as to the efficacy of taking this to law.

If I were you I'd go straight over -- not in a temper--very calmly and say you'd noticed he'd thrown some leaves and other rubbish over the wall into your garden and ask is there a problem we need to sort. Get it out of the way. He obviously has a problem with cleaning your leaves up or something else and before you go over have some resolutions thought of. I'm sure ye can sort it out easily even though what he did wasn't too nice.

@bull I gave you a workable strategy without hiring lawyers.

Go on - go on - go on.

If what you say is true - and you are believed - you will get damages.

Jeeze, judges, court, winning damages, no wonder the country fecked.

I was that bullworth a few years ago. My wife is big into her plants and trees, and the garden is her pride and joy. We had the neighbour call round ranting and raving about leaves in her garden. I went round with a mad as hell to see what the big problem was and give them a dose of cop on. There was not a plant or bush or any greenary in the garden. We planted a eucalyptus tree years ago and it grew like jack and the been stalk and was gorgeous. This tree shed in summer (something to do with conserving moisture in hot climate) Anyway, I could see where she had a problem. Her plain and simple garden was her pride and joy. So, I cut the thing down. Now, I draw the line at Nature. Autumn has never been a problem. She is not as mad as I thought she was. There are two sides here. No one gets up in the morning and dumps a bag of leaves over a wall with out some issues festering, and I would bet there something else going here.

bullworth said:

I have thrown back balls, miscellaneous items and toys for years.

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Now we're finally getting to the nub of the issue. You've been chucking stuff over their fence for years and now you're hopping mad over a few sweet wrappers coming back over your way

cashier said:

This thread has been going since early morning and it's going nowhere. The OP has been told a number of times to go and seek legal advice but he/she is not heeding that advise so what more can be said or done about the issue.

Click to expand...

You guys are hilarious. This issue has not been festering for years at least not on my side. I fully intend to sort it out asap and this was one parallel hoped for source of advice. I have a video of my neighbour throwing leaves and mud over the wall and it landing onto my white laundry hanging on the line. He waited until cover of darkness to do it too.

Yes this is new information but it just happened now.

Isnt information technology wonderful

Can I send the video simultaneously to 1) the guards , 2) the council and 3) the litter warden asking for their advice on how to proceed ? What say you all now ? At least I can prove to someone that my problem isnt imaginary,

I sense some of you have been involved in some similar disputes but not always on the same side as me so I politely request those of you who have to calm down and think before you type

bullworth said:

I have a video of my neighbour throwing leaves and mud over the wall and it landing onto my white laundry hanging on the line. He waited until cover of darkness to do it too.

Click to expand...

You secretly videotaped your neighbour in the dark???
Did you lie in wait undercover?

noodles said:

You secretly videotaped your neighbour in the dark???
Did you lie in wait undercover?

Click to expand...

I am sure theres humor somewhere in there somewhere....considering this is a real life issue.

my wife while minding our baby heard a noise in the garden and recorded it on her phone. quite intimidating for her to experience, no ?????

I was shown the video when I got back from work.

Where did the neighbour get the mud from and why was laundry on the clothes line at night time? How come there are fallen leaves at this time of year, it's still practically winter?

I'm changing my original advice on here. Cut down the tree and problem solved.

This is based on the fact were talking about innocuous leaves and a few sweet wrappers but we're suddenly talking about covert filming, neighbours out and about up to no good in the dark, intimidation of your wife and the Gardaí, litter wardens, the local council, legal advice, lawyers and courts. Far better to do away with the tree.

Bullworth I don't know what planet you are on and I don't mean this in an insulting way but the Gardaí the litter warden and the local council will do nothing if you have a complaint about someone throwing leaves over a wall, I mean they do nothing if you have neighbours from hell so you think they will be any use in the circumstances you've outlined?

And thank you for the most entertaining thread in quite a while.

Neighbour to the back of your house threw leaves and dirt over a very high wall in the dark with clothes hanging on a line between the wall and your house and your wife recorded it on a phone??

just how clear is your footage given the above circumstances?

If your wife was intimidated when it happened why didn't she call the gardaí there and then?

I am a person similar to your neighbour. My house is relatively new compared to my neighbour and his garden is full of trees and I have none. Every winter due to prevailing winds I get almost all of his leaves deposited in my garden. I am talking about 40 plus wheelbarrows full and they ruin my grass if left. I have nowhere to dump them so every year I spend at least one full day picking up his leaves and throwing them over his wall. I don't complain to him about it as I know he cant help the wind and in my opinion I am justified in returning them. He has never complained to me about it and I wouldn't expect him to. I would consider both of us reasonable people and while I don't know the law in relation to this common law suggests I am right in my actions.

Oh please let's continue it....