A woman on the vacation island of Nantucket is suing her neighbor after he allegedly walked onto her property and cut down several of her trees for a better view of the ocean — and the increased property value that comes with it.
The lawsuit accuses Jonathan Jacoby of using a chainsaw to fell 16 of Patricia Belford’s nearly 50-year-old cedar, cherry, and Leyland cypress trees.
Three weeks after he allegedly cut down the trees, Jacoby listed his home for sale for nearly $10 million, according to the Boston Globe.
Listed among the home's features: its "sweeping view of the Atlantic Ocean," according to the complaint.
Belford points out in her lawsuit that the ocean vistas were "conspicuously missing from the property's prior listings."
When asked why he destroyed Belford's trees, Jacoby provided a terse response.
"I wasn't trespassing, I was clearing out her crappy trees," he told the Boston Globe in a single-line email.
The Independent has requested comment from Jacoby's attorney, James Merberg.
Many of the "crappy trees" that Jacoby allegedly toppled were more than 30 feet tall. They also provided Belford with "a natural buffer and privacy screen between the Belford home and neighbor’s parcels,” the complaint says.
Belford filed her suit in the Superior Court in Nantucket. She is alleging negligence, property damage, personal injury, and trespassing.
The available court documents have not revealed how much she is asking for in damages.
According to the lawsuit, the property damage caused at the house is estimated at more than $486,000. To purchase and transport one 30-foot-tall Leyland cypress — not including planting the tree — it would cost around $22,114, the Boston Globe determined.
“The trees at issue were planted by the Belford family in the 1970s and maintained for nearly five decades,“ the lawsuit says. ”Their removal was not only a violation of the Plaintiff’s property rights, but also caused lasting damage to the character, value, and privacy of the property.”
Belford has also reported the incident to the police. According to the lawsuit, there is "an active and ongoing criminal proceeding" in the Nantucket Police Department related to Jacoby's alleged lumberjack activities.
Jacoby's former landscaper, Krasimir Kirilov, reportedly gave a voluntary statement to the Nantucket police concerning the investigation, according to the lawsuit. He told police he knew nothing about the tree cutting.
"I was surprised to find that out," the landscaper reportedly said.
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