Article content continued

Slone noted that a property line is, by definition, a line, while “of course, the hedge (as it existed) was a three-dimensional object occupying airspace and sending roots into the ground on both properties,” the judgment said.

Harris and Isaacs both spent thousands on surveyors, and the lines they produced were virtually identical, with the hedge jogging “along a slightly crooked path.”

To back his reasoning, Slone cited cases as recent as 2013, and one as ancient as 1698, which stated: “Two tenants in common of a tree, and one cuts the whole tree; though the other cannot have an action for the tree, yet he may have an action for the special damage by this cutting; as where one tenant in common destroys the whole flight of pigeons.”

Harris’s plan — later carried out — was to replace the hedge with a wooden fence. According to Slone’s judgment, “(Isaacs) was clear in her testimony that her main concern was not having been consulted, and she admitted that she might well have consented had she known in advance that (Harris) was planning to build a privacy fence. The end result is that privacy has been restored. The fence is a nice one … ”

Slone summed up his decision this way: “I acknowledge that many of the larger stumps sit on (Harris’s) side of the line, but the evidence suggests that these were mostly, if not all, maples which over the years had seeded and found their way into the barberry hedge as likely volunteers. The barberry bushes, as represented by the smaller stumps, are found on both sides of the boundary.

“Based on the whereabouts of all of the stems, it was a jointly owned hedge that the Defendant (Harris) did not have the unilateral right to destroy. Her actions therefore constituted trespass,” he wrote.

Most of the judgment against Harris — $5,313 — covered the surveyor Isaacs hired.

But he also awarded Isaacs an “arbitrary” amount of $1,000, writing: “I believe this amount would be sufficient to purchase a few shrubs and/or small trees that would, if strategically placed, soften the view from her side of the fence.”