Ofloglou v Sciglitano

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Ofloglou v Sciglitano [2015] NSWLEC 1318 Hearing dates:10 August 2015Date of orders: 10 August 2015 Decision date: 10 August 2015 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Fakes C Decision: Application upheld; tree removal ordered. Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS] Damage to property; adequacy of evidence and engineer’s report; application to amend orders Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Hinde v Anderson & anor [2009] NSWLEC 1148 McCallum v Riodan & anor [2011] NSWLEC 1009 Zangari v Miller (No 2) [2010] NSWLEC 1093 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Ms S Ofloglou (Applicant) Mr M Sciglitano (Respondent) Representation: Applicant: Mr U Coustas (Solicitor) Respondent: Ms L Saw (Barrister)   Solicitors: Applicant: Lexington Law Group File Number(s):20210 of 2015JudgmentThis decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication. COMMISSIONER:    Growing at the rear of the respondent’s North Parramatta property is a mature Jacaranda tree. The applicant contends that the roots from this tree have caused the cracking of tiled pergola slab and an adjacent concrete path. The application originally considered two Jacarandas however, the respondent has since removed one of the trees. The applicant has applied under s 7 Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (the Act) for orders seeking the removal of the tree at the respondent’s expense. In applications made under Part 2 of the Act, the key jurisdictional tests are found in s 10(2). This states: (2)   The Court must not make an order under...