Gounakis v Ward [2014] NSWLEC 1243

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Gounakis v Ward [2014] NSWLEC 1243 Hearing dates: 25 November 2014 Decision date: 25 November 2014 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: The application is upheld in part. See orders at paragraph (11) Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS); damage to property; risk of injury; application upheld in part; orders for pruning Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Cases Cited: Yang v Scerri [2007] NSWLEC 592 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Emmanuel Gounakis (Applicant)

James Ward (Respondent) Representation: Emmanuel Gounakis, litigant in person (Applicant)

James Ward, litigant in person (Respondent) File Number(s): 20722 of 2014

Judgment

This decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication.

Background 1A large Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna) grows in the rear garden of a residential property in Blakehurst. The tree was there when Mr Ward ("the respondent") purchased the property some 15 years ago. The tree is more than 20 metres tall and its large canopy overhangs Mr Ward's garden, as well as the gardens of properties to his south, southeast and east. 2Mr and Mrs Gounakis have owned and lived at the property to the south for almost two years. They have young children who play in their garden. They say families in the other neighbouring properties also have children. In the time they have lived here several limbs have fallen from the Sydney Blue Gum into their garden, and on one occasion some lights in the garden were damaged. They are concerned about further damage; but mostly due to their concerns of injury to children, they have tried to negotiate the tree's removal with Mr Ward. Unable to reach a satisfactory outcome, Mr Gounakis ("the applicant") has now applied to the Court for orders pursuant to s 7 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 ("the Trees Act") for the tree to be removed. He does not claim any compensation.