Barker v Morris

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Barker & anor v Morris & anor [2014] NSWLEC 1205 Hearing dates:3 October 2014Decision date: 03 October 2014 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Fakes C Decision: Application upheld in part; orders for tree removal Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS]: Damage to property; risk of injury; compensation Legislation Cited: Dividing Fences Act 1991 Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Mr R and Ms P Barker (Applicants) Mr K Morris and Ms M Morris (Respondents) Representation: Applicants: R & P Barker (Litigants in person) Respondents: K Morris (Litigant in person) File Number(s):20460 of 2014 JudgmentCOMMISSIONER: The applicants own a property in North Nowra. They have applied under s 7 Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (the Act) for orders seeking the removal of a dead tree from an adjoining property on the basis that branches falling from it have caused damage to the dividing fence and could cause injury to anyone on their property.Orders are also sought for compensation for half the cost of replacing the dividing fence between the parties properties, which the applicants contend was damaged by branches falling from the tree, and for half the cost of the Court's filing fee. In regards to the latter element of the claim, Commissioners of the Court do not have the jurisdiction to award such costs. Should they wish to do so, the applicants may file a separate Notice of Motion, which would be heard by the Registrar or a Judge...