Question: My neighbor (actually, he owns the property but doesn't live there) has just demanded that I cut back the tree limbs that overhang his property, at my expense, because he doesn't like cleaning up the dead leaves, etc. He pointedly told me that if I don't have the trees cut back I have to hire someone to keep his yard clean, or he will start dumping his yard rakings to my side of the fence. What does the law say about such a situation?

-- James, Concord, Calif.

James: What happened to neighbors who borrowed cups of sugar or sold one another Girl Scout cookies?

As it happens, though, disputes over trees near property lines are a flourishing branch of the law. Courts have ruled variously about the rights and responsibilities of tree owners toward their neighbors, but the lawyers I consulted cited no cases in which people were responsible for raking their neighbors' lawns. It seems unlikely that a court would rule that each homeowner must collect all the leaves that fall from trees in his yard, no matter how far afield they flutter in the autumnal breeze. Think of how complicated raking would become.

In various states, including California, courts have opted for common sense, finding that the remedy is in the neighbor's hands: He can trim branches or roots that extend over or into his property. This is known in legal circles as "the Massachusetts Rule of Self-Help."

But the right to hack away at invading vegetation isn't absolute, notes June Barlow, vice president and general counsel of the California Association of Realtors. She points to a 1994 case, Booska v. Patel, featuring a Monterey pine in the Booska family's yard whose roots extended into the Patel property. The case involved alleged damage to that tree caused by the Patels's decision to slice through those roots. In that case, a California court of appeal cited a duty to avoid "unnecessary injury" to a neighbor's tree. So if your neighbor retaliates by torturing your tree, or worse, you may have a case.

On the other hand, keep an eye on that tree. If it is clearly rotten and likely to topple over on your neighbor's roof, you may have a legal obligation to take preventive action, according to a 1969 North Carolina appeals court ruling in Rowe v. McGee.

-- Mr. Hagerty is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal. His "House Talk" column appears most Fridays on RealEstateJournal.com. E-mail him your questions about the residential real-estate market. Please include your first name and city and state. If your question is answered and posted, we will show your first name and city. Due to volume of mail received, we regret that we cannot answer every question.

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