Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

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LTCM
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Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by LTCM » December 2nd, 2016, 9:14 pm

Edit: Meant for this to be in the cool season grass forum. So agitated right now, I messed up the posting. Could a mod move it for me?

I'll admit, I'm not thinking clearly right now. A neighbor and I got into a disagreement. I was right and I knew I was right, so I didn't let him walk on top of me. In retaliation, the neighbor parked his truck on my lawn until I conformed to his wishes. Have video of me repeatedly asking him to move his truck and his response of "I'll move it when you do what I want." Which I didn't, and he finally moved before the cops got there.

The problem is we got 5+ inch of rain two days ago. I can already tell there are ruts in my fescue lawn. I'm pissed and want to go nuclear. This guy knew I care a lot about my grass and he did it on purpose to piss me off and try to beat me into following his rules. Don't care about the wasted time and filing fees are refunded if you win.

So, what should I sue for? Damages would be to fix ruts and level lawn. Don't care if it's $5, I want to rub this guys nose in it for principle.

Later on, the cops confirmed I was right and had a discussion with the future defendant.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by turf_toes » December 2nd, 2016, 9:57 pm

moved to water cooler forum.

I think it unwise to ask legal or medical advice on a lawn and garden forum.

I'm curious about the missing details. What did he want you to do? You say he wanted you to follow his "rules." What rules? What was it that the police said you were right about?

In most cases, you are best moving on. Install a fence and just ignore your neighbor. If it happens again, pick up the phone and call the cops. Ask them to file a report noting any physical damage.

If the police filed a report and noted actual damage, you might have a chance of winning a small claims case. But if the report didn't note physical damage at the time of the incident, you'll have a harder time proving that his action caused the harm. Not impossible, but harder. You should ponder that when considering the cost of filing. If you don't win, you'll be picking up that tab.

Did you ask the police about filing charges? If you have video of you asking him to move his truck, I'm assuming you have video of the truck in your lawn, right?

That seems like a more straight forward case than filing a civil action after the fact. Ask the cop about filing charges in municipal court. If you win there, that should make winning a civil case easier.

One final piece of advice: before trying to rub his nose in anything, you might consider what else this man is capable of doing. Someone willing to drive his truck into your lawn to prove a point seems like someone who might be willing to do far worse. One thing I learned in the military is that you don't truly know what people are capabable of doing.

Im not suggesting you just let him continue doing it. But maybe it's a wiser course to just let the authorities handle things.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by j4c11 » December 3rd, 2016, 1:02 am

Get an estimate for repairing the damage. Discuss the situation with a local attorney and determine what you need to do to :

1. Protect your property from further trespass and what your options are if it happens again.
2. Recover damages from the person responsible. I suggest you follow through, if there's inconvenient consequences to his actions he'll think twice about doing it next time.

You might end up losing money overall, but you can't just let him think he can do whatever he wants on your property either. Just another cost associated with owning property.

Might want to consider getting ahold of some pepper spray and a Remington 870 for your home. Sounds like he might not be the civilized type.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by LTCM » December 3rd, 2016, 2:56 am

turf_toes wrote:
I'm curious about the missing details. What did he want you to do? You say he wanted you to follow his "rules." What rules? What was it that the police said you were right about?

In most cases, you are best moving on. Install a fence and just ignore your neighbor. If it happens again, pick up the phone and call the cops. Ask them to file a report noting any physical damage.
Not trying to hide anything, just didn't think anyone would care. I had my car parked on the street. No HOA, and the police confirmed that in my county, a registered car facing the direction of traffic is completely legal to park on a residential street. This is an older gentleman who makes snide comments to many of the neighbors about all kinds of things he sees as out of place. Our street does see a decent amount of traffic as a cut-through, but doesn't change the law and my rights.

I learned after the fact the his wife is beginning to suffer physical problems due to age, and may have almost hit my vehicle. But if it's that bad she shouldn't be driving. And he was literally claiming that because I hadn't live here as long as him, I should have asked for his permission before parking there. I'll make sure to ask before painting my house next time.

turf_toes wrote: If the police filed a report and noted actual damage, you might have a chance of winning a small claims case. But if the report didn't note physical damage at the time of the incident, you'll have a harder time proving that his action caused the harm. Not impossible, but harder. You should ponder that when considering the cost of filing. If you don't win, you'll be picking up that tab.

Did you ask the police about filing charges? If you have video of you asking him to move his truck, I'm assuming you have video of the truck in your lawn, right?

That seems like a more straight forward case than filing a civil action after the fact. Ask the cop about filing charges in municipal court. If you win there, that should make winning a civil case easier.
It was dark by the time they got there and I didn't have the officers get out to look at the damage in the dark. My mistake. It's not terrible - he didn't do a burnout - but definitely noticeable and needs to be corrected. I'm going to follow up with the lawman tomorrow to make sure a report will be issued. I have a few videos - me asking him to move right away, me asking him to move again about 10 mins into the discussion, and him pulling away later on - so I have verified times for everything. He's right there by the truck so they include all the info. I feel the most incriminating part is him saying point blank - I will only move my vehicle after you move yours first. He was kinda laughing about why I was taking video. Cause I didn't want it to be my word against his.
j4c11 wrote:Get an estimate for repairing the damage. Discuss the situation with a local attorney and determine what you need to do to :

1. Protect your property from further trespass and what your options are if it happens again.
2. Recover damages from the person responsible. I suggest you follow through, if there's inconvenient consequences to his actions he'll think twice about doing it next time.

You might end up losing money overall, but you can't just let him think he can do whatever he wants on your property either. Just another cost associated with owning property.

Might want to consider getting ahold of some pepper spray and a Remington 870 for your home. Sounds like he might not be the civilized type.
I'll call a few lawn places tomorrow for estimates. I don't mind throwing some time and dollars at this so I'll look up a few attorneys as well.

It was actually the most civil police attracting argument ever. Mainly him saying my car was illegally parked and me voicing my frustration of talking to a brick wall. It pissed me off that he kept harping on how he was here first and I should have asked before I parked there because it was "his neighborhood." I'm dead serious. Zero hints of any kind of violence. If it had gone that way, I would probably have reached for the Walther first. Maybe the Baretta 12ga. Defiantly the Browning last. We keep this place well stocked.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by Pete1313 » December 3rd, 2016, 12:46 pm

If I can give my two cents, be nice to your neighbor, be extra nice to the neighbors you dislike. I have neighbors I dislike and I make sure I wave to them each morning I leave for work.

It appears you are in the right, and he did something definately wrong, but what will trying to sue him accomplish? Prove to him you were right? But that won't make anything easier for you. The man is angry and maybe suffering inside, and a lawsuit could surely push him over the edge. You have to live next to him, and the next act he commits you might not be able to prove and may be worse. So instead of living life with a weapon by your side, or building a fence, here is what I would do.

Go over to his house, make amends, say that you believe you had the right to park that way but had no idea it bothered him/his wife so. Tell him you will try and park your car the other way from now on. Ask him how his wife is feeling. Be neighborly. It's easier to park differently and do the leveling yourself, then to prove that you were right and he was wrong.


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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by ken-n-nancy » December 3rd, 2016, 9:51 pm

Pete1313 wrote:It appears you are in the right, and he did something definitely wrong...

... here is what I would do.

Go over to his house, make amends, say that you believe you had the right to park that way but had no idea it bothered him/his wife so. Tell him you will try and park your car the other way from now on. Ask him how his wife is feeling. Be neighborly. It's easier to park differently and do the leveling yourself, then to prove that you were right and he was wrong.
+1

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by bpgreen » December 4th, 2016, 3:02 am


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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by 1977212 » December 4th, 2016, 11:17 am

You could register them as vulnerable adults

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by LoneRanger » December 4th, 2016, 2:12 pm

1977212 wrote:You could register them as vulnerable adults
.. or you could -
Pete1313 wrote:Go over to his house, make amends, say that you believe you had the right to park that way but had no idea it bothered him/his wife so. Tell him you will try and park your car the other way from now on. Ask him how his wife is feeling. Be neighborly. It's easier to park differently and do the leveling yourself, then to prove that you were right and he was wrong.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by killerv » December 5th, 2016, 10:42 am

Go inside, take a few shots of your favorite liquor and go on with your life. Way more important things to worry about and spend your money on. He has an ugly mindset and you aren't going to change it. Level, reseed yourself, whatever, put an ugly erosion fence up til its back to normal. Take him a fruit cake for xmas.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » December 5th, 2016, 11:37 am

Have him over for dinner. Send him a Christmas card with gift certificate to his favorite restaurant. Make sure he's invited to the next neighborhood party (start one if your home owners don't have one!)

Fix the lawn in the spring. I bet he might help you if you do the work if you guys hash things out.

You're probably 90% in the right - but escalating it only ensures future conflict. And at what cost?

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by rtomek » December 5th, 2016, 1:11 pm

Not sure a lawsuit is really worth the time and effort. The filing charges alone are probably more than it would cost to repair the yard. I would just brush off that first act of retaliation, not much to do about it and as a house owner much worse things can happen than repairing a section of the yard.

Your neighbor has now been told that it's perfectly fine for you to park in the street. It's up to you if you want to continue doing so, not some elderly lady that drives maybe once a week. I'd probably just pull it in on days I didn't need to use one side of the driveway as a neighborly courtesy rather than stop parking there altogether.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by j rockford » December 5th, 2016, 8:38 pm

You definitely showed restraint. And it has nothing to do with grass, I have (I'm sure a lot of us do) a young family and that type of action on my property would have been received poorly. My Irish would have led me to a bad decision or two and everyone would have had a bad day.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by tlinden » December 6th, 2016, 3:35 pm

I had a similar situation with neighbors and parking in the street. My wife had parked the car in a spot my neighbor didn't like. When a snow storm came she called the cops on me. The cop said there wasn't a parking ban yet, but that it would probably happen so I moved it (the cop even apologized).

I got so pissed that I parked my car there after the snow storm, and left it there for for a good month or two. Then when I finally needed to use it she parked her car there so when I got back I couldn't park there. I kinda laughed and thought well played and just haven't parked there since.

Something just ticked me off to a whole new level when the cop showed up though. I was outside shoveling when she was shoveling and nobody said anything to me so I never knew she had trouble backing out of her driveway. If she had said something I woulda moved it. Anyways if someone parked in my lawn I would have freaked to a whole new level too. Just try to calm down, it's really not worth it despite how disrespectful people can be.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » December 11th, 2016, 8:02 pm

You don't need an attorney. You need a priest to remind you what you learned in Sunday School. You learned it in one of the three following ways.
  • One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
  • One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated.
  • What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself.
The lady is getting old. Most people treat the elderly in a kind way. Defer to her frailty and move your car. How would you feel if you left your car there and she crashed into it killing someone in her car? Sure, you are legally correct; however, you are morally questionable.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by OldGlory » December 12th, 2016, 4:24 pm

LT I would have been pissed. I would have either called the cops and filed for a restraining order or started smashing windows with a bat. Though probably not the best reactions.

If he had just explained that where you parked made it difficult for his wife I'm sure you could have found another spot. I would have my car if it went that way.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by crabgrass » January 2nd, 2017, 10:49 pm

Trash truck took out my street edge, bad. Wife was seeing red, wanted to take all sorts of action.

It's just grass. I know it's a serious hobby and may be a masterpiece, but it's still just grass. As TurfToes points out, who knows what these folks are capable of? I sue Waste Management (Mob,BTW) and win $150 if lucky. Driver gets fired and comes after my car or worse.

I can protect myself, I have cameras, yadda yadda. In the end the advice above to take the high road is probably best. I give this crew a Christmas bonus, my lawn is probably untouched and problem I solved.

A little kindness and empathy can go a long way.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by GeorgiaDad » January 3rd, 2017, 7:17 am

Dchall_San_Antonio wrote:You don't need an attorney. You need a priest to remind you what you learned in Sunday School. You learned it in one of the three following ways.
  • One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.
  • One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated.
  • What you wish upon others, you wish upon yourself.
The lady is getting old. Most people treat the elderly in a kind way. Defer to her frailty and move your car. How would you feel if you left your car there and she crashed into it killing someone in her car? Sure, you are legally correct; however, you are morally questionable.
Amen brother.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by Overfloater » March 1st, 2017, 9:03 am

There are laws regarding these kind of parking situations and for good reason. Depends on your locality but in general, you cannot leave a vehicle parked on the street in the same spot for more than 72 hours or it is considered abandoned and can be towed.

You also cannot park within 4 feet or so of a driveway or crosswalk or you can be towed.

And yes, you have to parked in the same direction as traffic flow or you can be towed.

I had problems with people parking on the street and blocking my mailbox. I'm on a driver route so the mailman wouldn't stop if the box was blocked and I couldn't get my mail delivered. I had good luck leaving a note on the car explaining the situation. Most times the civil approach is the best approach.

How did this guy park on your lawn? Parkin on someone's property seems pretty cut and dry, especially if you have video.

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Re: Lawsuit for truck ruts in lawn?

Post by ndlutz » March 13th, 2017, 7:19 pm

If you choose to sue him, the court is only going to award you, at best, what it would cost you to repair the damage and get back to where you were before this happened. It's likely less than it would cost you in filing fees and I would think it is way, way less than you would pay to hire an attorney to represent you in the suit should you choose to go that way.

The next thing to remember is that our civil justice system is setup to compensate people in exactly the fashion I mentioned above - to put people in the position they were in prior to the issue occurred. What is the system not for? Punishing people like your neighbor, or presenting you with a windfall (I know you aren't asking for one).

Judges and attorneys do not usually like taking cases like this because they understand the previous two paragraphs. The court usually also does not look favorably upon people who appear to be litigious which under these circumstances you almost certainly would.

My advice is to have a couple of drinks and relax. If you can, make up with the neighbor. If his wife is suffering at this time, it may be stressing him out immensely. Maybe that's not the way he always was but the stress of caring for her has gotten to him. That happens a LOT to spouses and children.

If you can't make up with him, that's fine but don't spite him and especially don't sue him to spite him because you're going to just be throwing good money after bad. If you want to spend money, fix the lawn up nice and put up a fence to screen him out.

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