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July 11, 2002
Mr. and Mrs. Steve Grimes 238 Sequoia Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306-1045 Re: Property line with 300 Sequoia Avenue (fence and tree encroaching on neighboring property.) Dear Mr. and Mrs. Grimes: My office represents the interests of Dr. Fatekh Vergasov, your neighbor at 300 Sequoia Avenue. Dr. Vergasov has contacted you regarding the nuisance and trespass caused by your redwood tree and your fence, which encroach over his property line. To date, you have been unwilling to accept any of his offers to compromise with regard to removal expenses. The response of your letter of July 4th, 2002 is unacceptable because Dr. Vergasov is not willing to wait until the tree falls on his house before you decide its okay to remove it. The problems created by your tree are as follows: 1. The roots, branches, and trunk of the tree encroach over Dr. Vergasov’s property line, constituting a trespass; 2. Because you cut out a major portion of the roots on your side of the property (in order to protect your own property from damage), the tree is susceptible to falling on Dr. Vergasov’s property and destroying his home. Since the tree’s path will fall almost directly over Dr. Vergasov’s bedroom, he has become very anxious and fearful, causing him to lose sleep. This constitutes a nuisance; 3. A further nuisance is created by the massive root structure of the tree, which has already damaged Dr. Vergasov’s walkway along the side of his home. This will only continue to get worse as the tree grows. Ultimately, Dr. Vergasov will be faced with the same foundation damage that you incurred as a result of the root structure; 4. The foliage and branches on the tree fall onto Dr. Vergasov’s property, causing him to bear the burden of constant maintenance and cleanup. As you indicated in your letter, your fence encroaches over the property lines of both you and Dr. Vergasov. While you have indicated that you don’t mind the encroachment onto your property, Dr. Vergasov does mind that your fence encroaches over his property line. This encroachment must be abated as to that portion of your fence that crosses over Dr. Vergasov’s property line. If you don’t mind the encroachment onto your property, you may leave that portion of your fence as it stands. Dr. Vergasov is now demanding, at your own expense, that you completely remove the tree and its encroaching root structure. Furthermore, you must adjust your fence so that it stands along the property line, not over it. You will have 5 days from receipt of this letter to indicate your willingness to comply and assurance of immediate action on your part. The consequence of your failure to comply with these demands will result in legal action compelling you to abate the existing nuisance and trespass. Along with the lawsuit, a lis pendens will be recorded on your property notifying all future buyers or lenders of the pending action. The lis pendens will remain on title pending the outcome of the lawsuit. As I understand it, your home is currently on the market. This means you and your broker will be required to disclose these encroachment issues to any potential buyers. Your failure to make these disclosures to prospective buyers is fraud under California law. A copy of this letter will be forwarded to your broker to apprise him of the situation. In the meantime, I will await your response until the above deadline. After that time, Dr. Vergasov intends to pursue all legal remedies available to him without delay. I anticipate your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me either directly, or through your attorney. Sincerely, Patrick E. Saffarian, Esq.
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