Trees, noise, insults… The “Small Claims Court” knows all colors when it comes to neighborhoods. Here are some examples.
Three arguments from neighbors that will make you think before you cut down your branches
1. A resident of a forest district was sued by his neighbors because they believed that there were too many trees on his property.
Jeffrey Angelo Zecchel and Mei-Chih Maggie Chien from Saint-Lazare in Montérégie claimed that their neighbor Philip Joseph Stock had planted too many small trees near the border of their garden. While some were planted before he bought his house almost 15 years ago, others were just new shoots from mature trees, judge Florence Lucas ruled. The couple also sued their neighbor because he refused to cut down a tree that was considered dangerous.
Mr. Stock cut down the disputed tree before the hearing in the hope of avoiding a trial… which took place anyway because his neighbors did not want to withdraw their complaint. He also pointed out to the court that his neighbors’ land was the only one where there was no grass and very few trees.
Philip Stock’s garden on the left was more wooded compared to his neighbors’. Photo submitted in court
“Because the plaintiffs have chosen to live in a wooded environment, they must accept the normal inconveniences that result,” Judge Florence Lucas noted, ordering them to reimburse their neighbor $3,600 in compensation.
2. The owner of a maple tree whose branch damaged the neighbor’s cherry tree after a storm was ordered to pay his neighbor more than $1,000 because of his negligence.
In the summer of 2017, the severe storm in Lachine, where Philippe Widawski and Daniel Greham live, made headlines. A branch of Mr Greham’s Norwegian maple was then significantly damaged. “After that storm, every time the weather was windy, the two pieces of tree would rub against each other and break.” Mr. Widawski was scared […] that an accident does not occur,” said Judge Mélanie Dugré at the Montreal courthouse.
For a year, Mr. Widawski asked his neighbor for work to cut the broken branch. However, the weather took care of it before Mr. Greham. In August 2018, the neighborhood was hit by another storm, this time completely snapping off the maple tree’s branch. The latter then crashed into Mr. Widawski’s cherry tree.
A branch of this Norwegian maple tree broke after a violent storm in 2018. Photo submitted in court
Again, Mr Greham gave no sign of life when asked to call arborists to prune the problem tree. His neighbor took care of it himself and paid more than $500 to repair the broken trees.
3. A Gatineau man, desperate to see into his neighbor’s yard but whose view was blocked by a cedar hedge, took extreme measures by asking his son to cut down 45 of these conifers before sunrise.
Upon his arrival in 2017, Francis Beaulne received a visit from his neighbor Daniel Gendron, who asked permission to enter his land to trim his cedar hedge. In particular, Mr. Gendron claimed that cedars at such a height – about 10 feet – prevented him from seeing into his neighbor’s yard, which he wanted to fix. However, Mr Beaulne, the sole owner of the hedge, repeatedly refused this cut. In November 2019, Mr Beaulne was woken up by Daniel Gendron’s son Éric, who was trimming the hedge with secateurs. A total of 45 cedars were felled by half a meter.
Francis Beaulne’s cedar hedge was cut down by 60cm in certain areas. Photo provided by Francis Beaulne
At trial, Mr. Gendron and his wife denied “that they had asked their son to make this cut, arguing that he did so of his own free will, possibly under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs,” as we can read You in the judgment from last June. His son admitted that he had had some mental health problems in the past but that the situation was under control again in 2019. He even said his father told him, “Man, go work.”
Daniel and Éric Gendron were therefore ordered to pay Mr Beaulne more than $11,000.
Three Harassment that makes you appreciate your respectful and quiet neighbors
1. If every little squeak makes you wake up at night, condo living might not be for you. A Quebec woman learned that the hard way when she was ordered to pay $5,000 to her upstairs neighbors.
On the same evening that Catherine Landry moved in 2016, her neighbor Isabel Tremblay informed her about soundproofing issues in the building and the efforts she would have to make to ensure peace and quiet in her duplex. What followed was a long list of complaints: Ms. Landry made a fuss while moving, she walked on her heels while skipping, she couldn’t close the closet doors or flush the toilet at any time. At what time…
During the three years that Ms. Landry lived in this accommodation with her child, her neighbor made numerous interventions to denounce the noise caused, in particular by banging on the ceiling or increasing the volume of the music. However, according to a report, the sound insulation of this semi-detached house is typical of what we find in condominiums of the same type from the early 2000s.
Ms. Tremblay’s allegations were ultimately the cause of Ms. Landry’s move in 2019 and her brother’s sale of the condominium a year later.
2. A Drummondville couple was sued by a neighbor over a surveying issue and won their case because the man in question racially abused them during an argument.
Claude Bougie had decided to drag his neighbors Hélène Ducharme and Mehrez Hamida to small claims because he believed the couple had removed and moved survey markers between their properties. However, the couple decided to sue their neighbor for allegedly making racist comments towards Mr Hamida.
In 2020, Mr Bougie showed up at his neighbor’s property after a surveyor’s visit and accused him of moving a boundary marker. He then added that Mr. Hamida “could return to his country if he was not happy,” as we can read in last July’s ruling. “Racist or discriminatory expressions violate the dignity of the person and can therefore also entail civil liability for the person who engages in them,” clarified Judge Martin Tétreault, pointing out that these words have “no place in our society.” . .
As a result, Mr. Bougie was ordered to pay his neighbors $1,500 for the damages he suffered.
3. A couple ordered to pay $12,500 now understands it would have been important to think about their neighbors’ sleep before converting their garage into a room parties nocturnal.
Since moving into her home in Sainte-Mélanie in Lanaudière in 2012, Manon Richard has had to endure impromptu concerts in the garage of her neighbors Stéphane Meunier and Stéphanie Pelletier.
To welcome his friends, Mr. Meunier designed his space to include musical instruments, a bar and a karaoke machine. He even gave it a name and a social media account: “Cabane chez Meu Meu”.
The upper floor of Stéphane Meunier and Stéphanie Pelletier’s garage was transformed into a space for making music. Photo submitted in court
The parties initially stopped around 11 p.m., then once or twice a month they lasted until the early hours of the morning. Over the years, Ms. Richard made several complaints to the police. His neighbors received tickets worth up to $600. Mr Meunier and Ms Pelletier spent large sums on soundproofing the garage, which the court found “represented both an admission that they were making too much noise and a desire to try to muffle it”. But that doesn’t erase all the noise Ms. Richard had to endure, Judge Richard Landry said in sentencing her neighbors.