Category: Tree Law

Who owns that tree? Boundtree line disputes.

The value of a tree extends beyond its branches and dives deeper than its roots.  Shade on a hot summer afternoon, a barrier to unpleasant sights and sounds, prevention of ground erosion, wind protection, and some trees even produce edible fruit.  Not to mention the environmental impact, intercepting airborne particles, reducing smog and the overall greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.  Trees can also present problems: unwanted leaves, falling branches, lack of sunlight, and damage to underground utilities and foundations.

Recently I planted a some fruit producing shrubs/trees on my property.  Although they are small now, I hope they grow big enough to bare edible fruit, and provide shade on hot summer days.  Some of these trees are planted along my fence adjoining my neighbors’ properties.  What happens when the tree starts to produce branches that extend above my neighbor’s property or roots under my neighbors land?  What if the trunk of the tree widens enough to protrude the boundary line of my property?   You may pine the answers in-tree-guing.

Illinois follows a general rule that a boundary line tree may be jointly owned by the adjoining landowners. Ridge v. Blaha, 166 Ill.App.3d 662 (Ill. App. 1988). 

What is a boundary line tree? 

The location of the trunk of the tree determines whether a tree is a boundary line tree, not the roots or branches.  It is measured from the point at which the trunk emerges from the ground.   It does not matter what percentage of the tree grows on one neighbor’s property versus the other, any portion of the trunk crossing the boundary line creates joint ownership of the tree.   This means that ownership of a tree may change as the tree grows, if the trunk protrudes beyond the property line.  One day the tree may be exclusively yours, and the next it may be jointly owned by you and your neighbor.

What is joint ownership of a boundary line tree?

It means that one owner can prevent the other (enjoin them) from removal of the tree, to a certain extent.  It doesn’t matter who originally planted the tree, once the tree becomes a boundary line tree, it is the joint property of both land owners, and either can enjoin the other from removal. Although, if one neighbor is able to prove that the boundary line tree threatens imminent damage to their property, they may be able to have it removed.    

What about the roots? 

The extension of roots beyond the property line is not determinative.  Illinois borrowed precedent from an 1836 Connecticut Supreme Court opinion, “[d]ue to practical considerations, the fact that a tree’s roots alone cross a boundary line is insufficient to create common ownership, even though the tree thereby derives part of its nourishment from both parcels. Ridge, 166 Ill. App. 3d 662 (citing Lyman v. Hale (1836), 11 Conn. 177, 183). 

What about the branches?

In Lyman, the Conn. Supreme Court was addressing a dispute over whether an adjacent landowner committed trespass, when he gathered pears from a fruit tree branch that extended over his property.  The Conn. Supreme Court o-pined that if the branches overhang a boundary line then the non-owner would be permitted to remove those branches, if deemed a nuisance.   However, that same neighbor (non-owner) would not be permitted to convert those branches or the fruit on those branches to his own use.  As a cautionary note, removal of branches that cause damage to the overall health of the tree may result in liability to the removing party.   

Boundary line trees may give rise to neighborly dispute; it is important to know your rights before undertaking any action to remove a boundary line tree.  In many cases it may be wise to conifer with your neighbors before attempting to remove a tree or branch that may give rise to a future dispute.      

*Christian is an Illinois lawyer and focuses his practice on real estate and business law.

This blog and any materials available at this web site are for informational purposes and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem.  The information in this article is current as of the date indicated, and may not be updated to reflect future changes/developments.  Use of and access to this Web site or any of the e-mail links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the Law Office Of Christian Blume, LLC or Christian Blume and the user or browser.

Don’t get stumped when determining “stumpage value”

Chicago is a City with magnificent trees. We are surrounded by trees; rising high above houses and streets on parkways, living in yards, parks, forest preserves, public lands, on porches, in containers, even in homes.  Conifers, deciduous trees, ornamentals, fruit trees. Trees provide both private and public benefits: ascetics, shade, energy savings, temperature control, food consumption, play-things (tree houses, swings), decorations, privacy, noise reduction, air filtration, erosion control, habitats for small animals, and sentimental value.  Some have out-survived many buildings, multiple generations, droughts, disease, beetle infestations, and re-development. 

While we may not take notice and fully appreciate the lifespan, size and resilience of some of these larger and older trees, we certainly tend to notice when one has been removed, left only by a large stump or a pile of sawdust/woodchips, where a goliath of a tree stood.  It can leave a void on our landscape.

What happens when one of those trees is removed, damaged or reduced in size, more specifically when it is done without legal right?  What is the remedy?  How do we value what has been destroyed?

The Wrongful Tree Cutting Act (740 ILCS 185), provides damages for unlawfully removing limbs or trees, such as cutting your neighbors tree down or removing branches from their tree.  If you intentionally or knowingly cause to be cut any timber or tree in Illinois, without legal right, you might be liable for monetary damages.  Specifically, three-times (3x) the “stumpage value.”

The act was updated in July 2019 (HB3105) and now more precisely defines stumpage value.  Prior to the amendment, stumpage value was broadly defined as “standing tree.”  Courts were left to determine that value.  The trunk formula method was previously used to determine stumpage value.  See Marsella v. Shaffer, 324 Ill. App. 3d 134, 257 Ill.Dec. 753 (Ill. App. 2001).  The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) also recognized the trunk formula method as an appropriate method for valuing trees.

Using the trunk formula method an appraiser determines the replacement costs of the largest locally available tree of the same species and then makes adjustments for size, condition and location of the tree. 

The location adjustment is subjective and can take into account: distance from house/structure, historical or cultural significance, shade factors, aesthetic location, erosion control, noise reduction, barrier to noise or sight (privacy), sentimental value, etc.  The condition of the tree is also subjective, and may vary based on the expert making the determination.  An expert appraiser can weigh all these factors in determining the stumpage value.   

Tree size determination is less subjective, and calculated based on the cross sectional area of the tree not the height. A tree’s cross sectional area typically decreases depending on the measurement location, (1 ft. above ground level for trunks less than 12 inches in diameter and 4.5 ft. above ground for trees with diameters greater than 12 inches).

New Stumpage Value in Illinois:

The update to the Act narrows the definition of “stumpage value” for purposes of the Wrongful Tree Cutting Act.  It is “the value of timber as it stands uncut in terms of an amount per unit of volume expressed as dollar value per board foot (board foot = 1 ft. long x 1 ft. wide x 1 in. thick) for that portion of a tree or timber deemed merchantable by Illinois forest products markets.”

This definition applies a more commercial approach to determining stumpage value, even though it is applicable to non-commercial trees.   It appears that the trunk formula method is no longer applicable, as location is no longer relevant when determining “stumpage value” as to the Wrongful Tree Cutting Act.  Although this approach makes the process of computing damages more objective, it may leave tree owners less compensated for their losses and does not take into account the significance of these trees in our daily lives and as structures of our communities.  

This blog and any materials available at this web site are for informational purposes and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this Web site or any of the e-mail links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between The Law Office Of Christian Blume, LLC and the user or browser.