Guy Who Wants An Unobstructed View Cuts Down 10 Mature Trees In His Cousin's Property, Gets A $500k Lesson About Tree Law

"Deliberate damage and theft of half a million dollars of property is NOT a family issue."

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• April 8, 2024

A tree thief dared his cousin to report him to the police for cutting 10 mature trees. It was a poor choice he now regrets — as Redditors put it, he f*cked around and found out.

The land once belonged to OP's great-grandfather. OP owns the biggest property among their cousins because they don't have any siblings.

One of OP's uncles divided his land into acreages to give to children. One of his children spent 10 years building his dream home on his land on top of a hill.

His property shared a border with OP's. Their cousin complained about the tree lot on OP's side of the fence and said they obstructed his view of the valley.

OP was unsympathetic. Their cousin chose the property and location of his house; it was his choice to build his property in an area with obstructed views.

While OP and their wife didn't reside in their cabin, they enjoyed the privacy their trees provided. They refused to cut the trees because they protected them from the boisterous parties their cousin and his family frequently threw.

To OP's surprise, 10 mature trees were chopped down when they visited. OP checked their trail cameras and saw their cousin with his sons cutting the trees down.

OP confronted their cousin who was unapologetic about the whole thing. He said he did OP a favor because the trees were diseased.

OP asked to look at the wood but only a few small branches were left in the cousin's property. An arborist from the university was consulted to confirm their cousin's claims.

The arborist inspected the tree stumps and said they were healthy. He told OP how serious of a crime tree theft was.

OP warned their cousin to do something, or they would report the crime. The cousin told OP to go ahead.

OP called a lawyer who specialized in tree law. The trees were estimated to cost $50k each. The cops also tracked down the logs from OP's trees.

The company that bought the trees gave OP the money they earned from selling OP's tree trunks and said they would testify against OP's cousin. In exchange, OP won't sue them.

OP's cousin went berserk when he got served. OP's dad and their cousin's dad talked to OP. They wanted OP to be lenient with their cousin.

They said OP's cousin would have to sell his house to pay them for the damages. He could potentially lose his job if he had a criminal record.

OP reached an agreement with their uncle. OP was given one of their uncle's acreages and monetary compensation when they dropped the charges against their thieving cousin.

Their cousin's siblings are upset that some of their inheritance money was used to settle with OP, but they are more upset at their brother's stupidity. OP's dad said they shouldn't have involved the law in a family dispute.

OP was pleasantly surprised at how seriously law enforcement took tree theft.

OP did try to handle the situation amicably. They even gave their cousin a chance to make things right, but the sly guy took it as another opportunity to take advantage of OP.

Their cousin should be kissing OP's feet for not letting the court decide on the proper settlement.

He and his family would have had to pay more if OP didn't drop the charges.

Why do they always ask the victim to be the bigger person?

Doesn't this crime count as a felony?

OP's cousin didn't even mention anything about selling the wood for lumber. He claimed the trees were diseased. He tried to exploit OP twice.

If OP let this go without punishment, their cousin would have taken that as a license to walk all over OP.

Besides, the cousin didn't even get properly punished for his actions. His dad and siblings shouldered most of the consequences of his crime.

OP did the right thing. Most Redditors were disappointed that they settled the crime out of court because their cousin's ultimate punishment didn't fit his crime.

Don't commit criminal acts unless you're willing to face the consequences. As one Redditor poetically said, "The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed."

Chelsi