Court Orders Neighbors to Pay Over £209,000 Due to Tree Felling: Family May Lose Their Home

In the UK, three siblings will have to pay over £209,000 after losing a court case regarding tree felling on the boundary with a neighboring plot. According to The Independent, due to significant legal costs, they may lose the house where they spent their childhood.

Dispute over the boundary between plots

Construction company manager Robert McCarthy and his wife Amanda had long coexisted peacefully with their neighbors — Foulla Bowler and her brother John Barberis and sister Mary Englishby, who own the neighboring house in Nazeing, Essex County.

The conflict began in 2018 after a dispute over the boundary between the land plots. The Bowler family dismantled the rear fence and hired lumberjacks to cut down a row of 10-meter Leyland cypress trees which, according to them, were shading the garden.

The couple claimed loss of privacy

At the Central County Court in London, Robert and Amanda McCarthy stated that after the trees were cut down, their garden completely lost its privacy.

According to the couple, they had not used the backyard for years, mostly lived in the front part of the house, and stopped allowing their children to invite friends home.

During the case, it was also established that the situation negatively affected Amanda McCarthy's mental health, who suffered from depression due to constant stress.

The court found the neighbors' actions unlawful

In 2025, Judge Alan Saggerson ruled in favor of the McCarthy couple, establishing that the old fence was the legal boundary between the plots.

The court concluded that the siblings unilaterally changed the boundary and trespassed on the neighbors' property to cut down the trees. The judge described their actions as "arbitrary," "oppressive," and far beyond a typical property rights violation.

He noted that the plaintiffs were victims of aggressive neighbor behavior, which significantly affected their quality of life.

The court awarded over £209,000

After a separate hearing, the court ordered the defendants to pay about £30,500 in damages, as well as £178,668 to cover the McCarthy couple's legal costs and attorney fees.

At the same time, the court refused to require the defendants to pay for planting new eight-meter trees costing £105,000. Instead, the court awarded £5,000 for planting and growing smaller trees.

Why the court rejected the defendants' position

During the trial, Foulla Bowler and her brother and sister insisted that the trees grew on their land and that cutting them down was necessary due to shading and possible damage to the plot.

However, the court found the McCarthy couple's testimony more convincing. The judge also noted that he did not consider the defendants dishonest, only convinced of their own correctness.

The court also established that the tree felling exposed the McCarthy garden to constant neighbor attention, and conflicts, shouting, and verbal insults regularly occurred between the parties.

The family may lose their home

When announcing the decision, the judge stated that after losing the case, the house owned by the siblings and where they grew up is planned to be put up for sale to cover financial obligations.

According to the judge, the defendants had long violated the land boundary, and the tree felling significantly worsened the neighbors' living conditions, depriving them of privacy and causing moral damage.

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