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Nuisance Trees: Encroaching Branches and Tree Roots 2 courts look at whether or not you are harming the tree’s health. If you don’t know what may harm a tree, consult a tree expert before cutting. x To find a tree expert or ‘arborist,” look in the Yellow Pages under ‘tree service,” look for the arborist’s membership in professional organizations, such as the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA), the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), or the National Arborist Association (NAA) . x Don’t trespass onto your neighbor’s property to trim a tree or shrub. And technically, that means don’t even lean over the property line to make the pruning cut, unless you have the neighbor’s consent. x Don’t cut down a tree whose trunk is on the boundary line, unless you have the express consent of the owner on the other side of the boundary line. x Tip: Chat before you chop. Even though you are not legally obligated to do so, talk to your neighbor before you do major trimming on your neighbor’s tree. It’s the neighborly thing to do. What is self-help? Property owners in every state have the right to trim the branches or roots of a neighbor’s tree that encroach onto their property, up to the property line, at their own expense. This right is called “self-help.” Self-help is an alterative to going to court. The rationale is that self-help prevents the wasteful use of the court system to resolve comparatively minor disputes. It’s a trade-off: you have the right to cut and remove the encroaching branches or roots of your neighbor’s tree, right away, at your own expense (i.e., use self-help), instead of having to hire a lawyer, start a lawsuit, and wait for the courts to sort it out. Using self-help saves you time and money, and keeps the courts from settling disputes between neighbors. In Minnesota, you have the option of using self-help OR going to court, when using self-help is not practical or reasonable. In most other states, self-help is the exclusive remedy. What are the consequences of trespassing to cut down my neighbor’s tree? Cutting down a tree on another person’s property without permission is trespass and carried a stiff penalty. In Minnesota, whoever intentionally cuts down a tree without the owner’s permission can be assessed three times (“treble”) the amount of monetary loss suffered by the tree owner. 3 Tip: Don’t engage in stealth tree-cutting when your neighbor has gone on vacation. You’re setting yourself up to pay three times your neighbor’s loss. What can I do about leaves, twigs, sap, fruit, and other debris from my neighbor’s tree? Leaves, twigs, sap, acorns, etc., are naturally occurring tree debris and do not generally constitute a nuisance. There are no court cases in Minnesota that directly deal with this issue. However, courts in other states have recognized that tree owners are liable for “sensible damage” caused by their trees, such as a damaged roof, but not mere debris from a healthy tree. Going to court to have a neighbor ordered to pick up fallen debris is not practical or economical. Who owns the fruit on the branches of my neighbor’s tree that hang into my yard? The rule of thumb is that the fruit on the overhanging branches belongs to the tree owner. Picking the fruit may not be so simple. Ownership of the fruit does not give your neighbor any right to trespass onto your property to pick the fruit. The law in Minnesota on this subject is not clear cut. Courts would probably weigh your right to keep trespassers out of your yard against the owner’s right to harvest the fruit. The balance may tip in favor of your neighbor, if she owns an orchard and depends on the fruit for her livelihood. The law is also unclear on the issue of 3 Minn. Stat. §561.04