Maloney v Todd

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Maloney & anor v Todd & anor [2016] NSWLEC 1032 Hearing dates:21 January 2016Date of orders: 04 February 2016 Decision date: 04 February 2016 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Fakes C Decision: Application dismissed Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS] Damage to property; many possible causes of damage; uncertainty of nexus between trees and damage; hedge – obstruction of sunlight; obstruction not severe Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Drewett v Best [2010] NSWLEC 1305 Granthum Holdings Pty Ltd v Miller [2011] NSWLEC 1122 Robson v Leischke [2008] NSWLEC 152 Smith & Hannaford v Zhang & Zhou [2011] NSWLEC 29 Category:Principal judgmentParties: David and Selena Maloney (Applicants) David and Karen Todd (Respondents) Representation: Applicants: D and S Maloney (Litigants in person) Respondents: D and K Todd (Litigants in person) File Number(s):20996 of 2015Judgment COMMISSIONER: The applicants contend that a row of bamboo growing at the rear of the respondents’ garden and adjoining the common boundary has caused damage to their Green Point dwelling and severely obstructs sunlight to windows of their dwelling. The applicants have applied under both s 7 Part 2, and s 14B Part 2A, of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (Trees Act). The preferred orders are the removal of the bamboo and its replacement with a more appropriate species, and compensation for damage caused to their dwelling. In the alternative, the applicants request that the bamboo be maintained at a height no greater than 1m above the...