Bentley v Hinchen

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Bentley v Hinchen & anor [2014] NSWLEC 1209 Hearing dates:14 October 2014Decision date: 14 October 2014 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Galwey AC Decision: The application is upheld in part. See orders at paragraph 10 Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS); damage to property; change in circumstances since earlier application; application upheld in part; orders for pruning and compensation Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Bentley v Hinchen [2008] NSWLEC 1348 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Carol Bentley (Applicant) David Hinchen and Lynette Hinchen (Respondents) Representation: Carol Bentley, litigant in person (Applicant) David Hinchen and Lynette Hinchen, litigants in person (Respondents) File Number(s):20462 of 2014 JudgmentThis decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication.BackgroundA tall Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus grandis) grows in the Lindfield property of Mr and Mrs Hinchen ("the respondents"), close to their common boundary with Ms Bentley's neighbouring property. Ms Bentley ("the applicant") has lived here for many years, during which time she has become concerned about branches falling from the tree onto her property. Ms Bentley applied to the Court in 2008 seeking orders for the tree's removal and compensation for repairing damage caused by the tree. Pursuant to s 7 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006, the Court ordered the Hinchens to pay Ms Bentley some compensation for repairing damage, and ordered that the Hinchens have deadwood regularly removed from the tree at intervals of no more than 12...