Carter v Capito & anor [2017] NSWLEC 1740

Land and Environment Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Carter v Capito & anor [2017] NSWLEC 1740 Hearing dates: 20 December 2017 Date of orders: 20 December 2017 Decision date: 20 December 2017 Jurisdiction: Class 2 Before: Galwey AC Decision: (1) The application is upheld.

(2) Within 60 days of the date of these orders, and then annually in November beginning November 2018, the respondents are to engage and pay for a suitably qualified arborist (minimum AQF level 3 in Arboriculture) with appropriate insurance to prune each tree in the hedge to a height no greater than 3.0 metres above its base where it enters the ground, and remove any resulting debris from the applicant's property.

(3) The works in (2) are to be carried out in accordance with the WorkCover NSW Code of Practice for the Amenity Tree Industry or equivalent safety standard.

(4) The respondents are to give the applicant seven days' notice of the works in (2).

(5) Should it be required, the applicant is to provide all reasonable access for the works in (2) to be done during reasonable hours of the day. Catchwords: TREES (DISPUTES BETWEEN NEIGHBOURS); hedge; obstruction of views; balancing of privacy and view restoration; orders for annual pruning. Legislation Cited: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Norman Carter (Applicant) Alfonso Capito (First Respondent) Maria Capito (Second Respondent) Representation: Norman Carter, Litigant in Person (Applicant) John Capito, Agent (Respondents) File Number(s): 273327 of 2017 Publication restriction: No