Neighbor stole my land to fix his dam, advice sought

[willy]

On Sept. 29 the neighbor called me and told me he was going to fix his dam. He is a 70 plus fellow that used to farm the field the dam is on but now rents it out.

He would always come out to mow the fence edges and dam top. I warned him two years ago that his dam was washing a hole on the east side and he should not drive on it anymore as the hole was as big as his tractor and he would go into it. He appreciated the heads up and that was the last I heard from him about the dam.

Now back to Sept. 29th. He told me he was going to fix it and wanted to let me know that the contractor said the trees along our mutual fence had to be taken out. I agreed to let him take them out but that was it. I wanted to meet with him about it in he next couple days but he was not able to meet me then and I was not able to meet at the earliest, today. I had to leave town for the week but told him I wanted to meet with him about the dam when I got back.

I go to look at the dam site today and see that he has removed more trees than the fence line, and taken an area of at least 60' by 80' of my hillside to fill in the hole and build up the dam. I am so steaming pissed right now I really had to concentrate not to drive to his house and let it rip. My thoughts are this is going to have to go through legal processes, ie., lawsuit.

There is nothing on paper saying what I agreed or he agreed to just for your information.

Does anyone have some advice they wish to share.

Thanks.

 

[wbpdeer]

Get your photos ASAP. Make sure to get photos of the trees that were removed.

I guess I would talk to a lawyer to see what means are legal. Does the person have the ability to pay for what he messed up?

His age is probably partly to blame. Sounds to me that both you had been able to get along until this.

The contractor has some responsibility - at least my impression.

I hope this turns out good for you. Don't give up until it does.

Wayne

 

[Turkey Creek]

I would be beyond pissed. Heck I get pissed when I see people destroying habitat that doesnt even directly affect me! Depends on my relationship with the old guy and his ability to try and compensate for the damage done. I guess if there is a positive now you have a clean slate to work with in that area. I would at a minimum make sure you are paid for doing whatever erosion control efforts need to be implemented to immediately prevent erosion on your property.

 

[Bowhunter]

If your going to go the legal route, then first thing you need to do is have a boundary survey done and have the area that was disturbed by your neighbor mapped in detail.

Land surveying is what I happen to do for a living and this type of thing is all too common for me. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer any that you might have.

 

[Btaylor]

You could always rent a track hoe and go remove his garage from his house

 

[Buckly]

Got any pictures?

 

[willy]

Thanks all for your thoughts. I am not talking to the neighbor till I talk to lawyers. I took over 50 pics. He changed how the dam drains and how the water now drains off of a section of his property onto my land instead of into his dam. I truly think he is screwed. I can get legally sideways if he wants to go that route. My "finance committee" has given me the go ahead to go for the throat, whatever it takes.

After I get done talking to lawyers and seeing what my next move is. I may talk to the neighbor about an permanent legal easement(also added to my land's legal description) that I want on his land that would give me access to my property from the south to be able to hunt northerly winds and access my east side for any other reason. If he wants to save himself some time and money and agree to my terms then I will end my pursuit of litigation.

 

[willy]

Bowhunter, I may be sending you a pm later. Thanks for the offer.

 

[boot]

It would probably be smart to talk to a lawyer so you can review your options legally speaking

 

[willy]

I want to seed my side of the imaginary fence line asap to get something growing as it is highly erodible the way it sits now. Would rye work for this now?

 

[dogdoc]

I want to seed my side of the imaginary fence line asap to get something growing as it is highly erodible the way it sits now. Would rye work for this now?

yes, cereal rye would probably be your best option at this time. Sucks what happened but I agree with others that talking to a lawyer first to see what your options are. Your lawyer may be able to hook you up with a land specialist that can give you an estimate on the amount of dirt removed and the cost of the trees that were taken. After that it may be to small claims court. I don't know if trespassing charges could be filed or not?

 

[willy]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. Sleep sucked last night, not much as I let this situation get me riled too much. Alarm went off and it seemed like I had just finally fallen asleep. I call a highly recommend lawyer at 7:30 and we had a fine conversation. He advised me to talk to the landowner to see what he would do.

I called the landowner at 8:50 and we had a good, calm conversation. He has agreed to meet me at 8 am Wed. to look at the work and said he doesn't want me upset with any of the work and will make it right. This sounds good, we shall see.

Something I don't understand is that he said they used my dirt but are going to use his dirt once he get the beans combined. Red flag to me since I don't see anything else that needs to be done on the job.

 

[dogdoc]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. Sleep sucked last night, not much as I let this situation get me riled too much. Alarm went off and it seemed like I had just finally fallen asleep. I call a highly recommend lawyer at 7:30 and we had a fine conversation. He advised me to talk to the landowner to see what he would do.

I called the landowner at 8:50 and we had a good, calm conversation. He has agreed to meet me at 8 am Wed. to look at the work and said he doesn't want me upset with any of the work and will make it right. This sounds good, we shall see.

Something I don't understand is that he said they used my dirt but are going to use his dirt once he get the beans combined. Red flag to me since I don't see anything else that needs to be done on the job.

well at least that is a good start

 

[Turkey Creek]

Unless he means they will replace what they removed from your property with his field dirt? Glad to hear that at least he is communicating with you at this point, hopefully it works out for the best.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I would say the old feller just didn't think about it hurting anyone. Things were once done differently back in the day. People used to do things with a handshake and a coke. Back in those days they didn't think about soil damages, tree damage etc. I am sure the old boy will take care of making things right with you. Good Luck!

 

[willy]

Meeting went well this morning. Talked about an hour with owner and contractor and my terms were agreed to and the work will stop only when I agree that my concerns have been met. The landowner seemed genuinely concerned about my concerns but still didn't understand why I had an issue with them using my dirt and not his. I said he would feel the same way if I brought in an excavator to fill in an eroded gully on my side of the fence with dirt from his side.

"He said he used mine because beans were still on his and that he planned on putting the dirt back when the beans were out." I am not understanding that one bit.

He said they will take care of the issues once the beans get out as he wanted to wait till the beans were out before taking the soil under them. There aren't a 100.00 worth of beans on top of the soil he is going to pull over.

The dirt will be brought back over to my side from his bean field.

The fence line will be built back up with drainage to both sides of the fence like prior.

IF this does indeed all happen then I will be content with the outcome, if not then a different approach will have to be taken.

 

[Turkey Creek]

The landowner seemed genuinely concerned about my concerns but still didn't understand why I had an issue with them using my dirt and not his.

UMMMMM ...... because you took something that wasnt yours without asking permission to do so!