Prior v Michael; Pettitt v Michael

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Prior v Michael; Pettitt v Michael [2016] NSWLEC 1495 Hearing dates:26 October 2016Date of orders: 26 October 2016 Decision date: 26 October 2016 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Fakes AC Decision: Application granted; tree removal ordered Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS] Damage to property; potential injury; dead tree Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Eric Prior (Applicant: 277395/16) Philip Pettitt (Applicant: 277408/16) George Michael (Respondent: both matters) Representation: Applicant: Eric Prior (Litigant in person; 277395/16) Applicant: Philip Pettitt (Litigant in person; 277408/16) Respondent: Mr R Michael (Agent; both matters) File Number(s):277395 of 2016277408 of 2016Judgment COMMISSIONER:   The applicants in these matters, Mr Prior and Mr Pettitt, own adjoining properties downslope and to the rear of the respondent’s property in Newport. For several years the applicants have attempted to negotiate the removal of a dead Pinus radiata located close to the common boundaries of the three properties; it is clear that this has been a cause of some frustration. Although the respondent recently arranged for some branches to be removed, the majority of the dead tree remains. The applicants have separately applied under s 7 Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (Trees Act) for orders seeking the removal of the dead tree on the basis that branches falling from it could cause damage to property on their land or could cause injury to anyone. In Mr Pettitt’s case, a claim is made for compensation of $789.00 for the...