Patane v Proops & Anor [2015] NSWLEC 1222

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Patane v Proops & Anor [2015] NSWLEC 1222 Hearing dates: 5 June 2015 Date of orders: 05 June 2015 Decision date: 05 June 2015 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Durland AC Decision: The application is upheld Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS); damage, injury, compensation, palm frond pruning ordered. Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Salvatore Patane (Applicant) Paul Proops (First Respondent) Jann Proops (Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: Salvatore Patane, litigant in person (Applicant) Paul Proops, litigant in person (First Respondent) Jann Proops, litigant in person (Second Respondent)

Solicitors: - File Number(s): 20211 of 2015

Judgment

This decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication. 1. This is an application pursuant to section 7 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (the Act) concerning two trees located on a property in Five Dock. The trees are identified on the application as Tree 1 (Palm) and Tree 2 (Murraya). 2. The trees are located close to the side boundary fence at the rear of a property owned by Mr and Mrs Proops (the respondents). 3. Mr Patane (the applicant) is seeking orders for the removal of the palm and Murraya and is also seeking orders for compensation in relation to the property damage he contends has been caused by the falling palm fronds. In addition Mr Patane is seeking compensation for the cost of the application fee. 4. The provisions of section 10(2) of the Trees Act require that I be satisfied that one or more of four tests are met with respect to each tree subject to the application, before I have jurisdiction to consider the application. These tests are: Has the tree caused damage to the applicant's property? Is the tree now causing damage to the applicant's property? Is the tree likely in the near future to cause damage to the applicant's property? Is the tree likely to cause injury to a person? Only if one or more of the tests is satisfied can I move on to consider what orders, if any, I should make in respect to each of the trees.