"Jan Taylor" wrote in message

My neighbor has large trees, which overhang our property. During this
past
wind storm, several large limbs ended up on my property. I asked him if
he
could remove them, so I could cut the lawn. He called me every name in
the
book, and told me it's my problem.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote

. . . Then, have them pitch the pieces over the fence into his yard.

Extremely bad advice!! Whatever you do Jan, DON'T have anyone throw
anything into your neighbor's yard at your request.

If your twitchy neighbor has a video camera, you could leave yourself open
to a charge of malicious mischief or littering and be responsible for any
damage done during the "repatriation" of the wood. That may seem strange
but it was an act of God that put those broken branches in your yard.
Having someone put the branches back in his yard is not. It's your
deliberate act and it's wrongful in many (most?) states, AFAIK.

About the only way I know of to get the offender to remove the branches is
for you to prove that they were already dead and represented a hazard that
the tree's owner was aware of. I just spent $3000+ removing such a tree
because I knew limbs were dead. It's a double-boled tree with a fence
running through it. Each year, I would inspect it for dead limbs (no leaf
growth) and this year, two very large branches (about 10" in diameter) did
not flower. Since my neighbor has a beautiful yard and two grandchildren
that often play there, I thought I'd rather pay the $ now to do it right
than worry that my tree could kill one of those kids. The tree had already
dropped a huge branch that dented my metal shed on a clear, calm day with no
winds. I didn't want a situation that money could fix to become one no
amount of money could.

My advice, in addition to the mostly useful advice received here, is to get
photographs of the branches in question (are there leaves on them or were
they dead?) and do it very obviously. That could induce your grumpy
neighbor to accept responsibility for removal of the limbs, especially if
other limbs are dead and need pruning. Some jurisdictions, like mine, have
an official arborist who can inspect you neighbor's tree and determine if
those limbs should have been removed BEFORE they were brought down by wind.
This step is often necessary to force the offending neighbor to properly
care for his trees (many homeowners fail in this area). I suspect the
branches now in your yard won't be the last ones, particularly if your
neighbor doesn't properly care for his trees.

--
Bobby G.