Verdicts and Settlements

REAL PROPERTY, Trespass/Nuisance, Real Property Damage

SETTLEMENT RESULT: $16,500 to plaintiff for damages. The parties settled for $16,500 and the removal of the encroaching trees.

CASE: Quick v. Ely. DOCKET NUMBER: RG-13-686326

SETTLEMENT DATE: October 26, 2013

ATTORNEYS:Plaintiffs- Barri Kaplan Bonapart (Bonapart & Associates, Sausalito)
Defendant: Stella H. Zyman (Austin, Brownwood, Cannon & Santa Cruz, San Diego, CA)

EXPERTS: Linda Carruthers, surveyor, Linda Carutthers & Associates, Sausalito

FACTS & CONTENTIONS: Defendants Jon and Alice Ely and plaintiffs Marvin and Doris Quick owned adjacent properties. The roots from defendants' redwood trees growing near the common boundary reportedly encroached onto plaintiffs' property and began to cause cracking in their existing garage floor and foundation. In 2011, plaintiffs performed some demolition in their garage's slab floor and discovered that the source of the cracking was
from the tree roots. Plaintiffs also confirmed that the encroaching roots had caused damage to the side yard, foundation and perimeter drainage system.

Plaintiffs wrote a letter to the defendants requesting that they take action to abate the encroachment, remove the offending trees and pay for the damages caused to plaintiffs' property by the encroaching tree roots or they would seek legal action to resolve the ongoing nuisance. Defendants reportedly ignored all requests.

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