Say v Antal

Land and Environment Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Say & anor v Antal [2016] NSWLEC 1493 Hearing dates:27 October 2016Date of orders: 27 October 2016 Decision date: 27 October 2016 Jurisdiction:Class 2Before: Fakes AC Decision: Application dismissed Catchwords: TREES [NEIGHBOURS] Damage to property; sewer Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Hinde v Anderson & anor [2009] NSWLEC 1148 McCallum v Riodan & anor [2011] NSWLEC 1009 Robson v Leischke [2008] NSELEC 152 Smith & Hannaford v Zhang & Zhou [2011] NSWLEC 29 Yang v Scerri [2007] NSWLEC 592 Zangari v Miller (No 2) [2010] NSWLEC 1093 Category:Principal judgmentParties: Virginia & Lesley Say (Applicants) Michael Antal (Respondent) Representation: Ms V Say (Litigant in person) Ms S Antal (Agent) File Number(s):219235 of 2016Judgment COMMISSIONER: The applicants have applied under s 7 Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (Trees Act) for orders seeking the removal of five trees growing on an adjoining property in Leumeah. The applicants contend that roots from the trees have caused damage to the sewer system and although the pipes have been replaced, they may cause damage in the future. The applicants also maintain that the roots of the trees, by extracting water from the soil and causing subsequent soil shrinkage, have caused structural damage to the retained concrete surrounds of their dwelling. The trees are five early mature Lillypillies planted as a group in the front garden of the respondent’s property, relatively close to the dividing fence between...