How you want to respond to this situation depends upon your relationship to your neighbors and whether or not you want to stand up to them.

What the contractor did was a tort, trespass, and you can sue for damages. You also may be able to file a criminal trespass or destruction of property complaint with the police. Finally, in almost all states, and I'm sure in Wisconsin, there are laws about water drainage and you need permits to change the natural drainage of the lad -- I would contact the appropriate authority and see if they had a permit to do what they are doing.

Also, and this is very important -- DOCUMENT EVERYTHING -- take a LOT of pictures of the damage. Write down an account of what happened and stress in there that NO ONE asked permission to trespass on your property or to dig it up.

Inform yourself first. Then, approach them nicely and tell them you were upset about what happened and you expect their contractor to make things right with you, and you want your yard restored exactly as it was. Odds are, if they are halfway decent at all, they'll fix things.

If that approach gets you nowhere, then you can bring out the big guns and tell them you are going to sue them and make complaints to the authorities. Because of the nature of the damage, it most likely is under Wisconsin's limit on small claims cases so you could easily handle it yourself in small claims court.

Good luck.

Those companies usually have good insurance. Take pictures and send them a bill for the cost of fixing any damages.

The house next door was bulldozed and I filmed the whole process just in case there was any damage to my property. They were very careful knowing they were being filmed.

My husband is an attorney and he has been doing case law research to see what he can do. He may also call up another attorney who has expertise in this field to get advice.

I've taken pictures of damage done. I do need a few more. In the mean time my garden will be choked out by weeds that I am unable to safely get to. We also have a new roommate moving in next month and she needs to move her big items down the side of the hill and go through the private entrance to the basement. What a mess!

For what its worth, I suspect that your neighbor had no idea that the contractor would come onto your property, and cause damage. The contractor was trying to get the job done, in the least expensive way. That's no excuse for what happened, however.

I do believe that the onus will be on the contractor who did the work. I would definitely get a couple Photos of their equipment and the company name on their trucks.

Have you spoken to your neighbor regarding the damage? Like ericwi stated, perhaps they don't even know about it.

Greg
Nevada

As a fellow WI-resident, as well as someone who works in landscape contracting, I would -

Pleasantly (or at least neutrally) approach your neighbor as soon as possible, and ask if provisions have been made to repair your property. If the contractor is reputable and thorough, they will do this automatically out of respect for all neighboring properties. (It's a horrible business practice to make neighbors mad!)

Nine times out of ten, it's already part of the budget & scope of work. If not, you can certainly proceed more aggressively....

Good luck!

I second (or third) the advice to speak to your neighbours immediately to bring the situation to their attention and give them an opportunity to fix it.

It is quite possible that they are so focused on their own problem (aren't we all?) that they either haven't noticed the damage to your yard, or it hasn't occurred to them that you mind. Yes, people really *can* be that clueless, and it seems unlikely to me that they would tell the contractor to use your yard knowing that he would cause damage.

IME when people irritate each other its much more likely to be due to lack of sensitivity, cluelessness or differing values, than malice. So I suggest letting them know immediately that there is a problem and asking them what they plan to do to fix it. There's no harm in letting them know at the time that you've documented the damage - that signals that you are serious about getting a result and can be said with a smile.

Good luck!

Take pictures...ASAP... When you go on Judge Judy, she'll rule in your favor. Subpoena everyone!

I don't believe in "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission". If the contractor tore up my property or caused a problem like the mud, I'd be out there filming them on my property with a video camera, stopping them and asking them what they thought they were doing and calling the police.

ronnywil I couldn't agree with you more. They are trespassing and should have got permission. This is not just destruction of property but an invasion of your privacy. People need to be aware of boundaries. We've already let this go too far in the US. I've said enough on this subject, it's leading to another.

Check with the County and see if they have a permit for the work being done!
The company would have to submit plans for what they are doing and if that meant using your property, they would have to have permission to even TOUCH your property!
My brother's neighbor did a bunch of work to a hillside which altered the water flow and did a BUNCH of damage to his property ALL without a permit! My brother had before, during and after pictures and got a BIG settlement (way above small claims, but the damage was way more also)
Ya gotta be careful with hills! (and gardeners!LOL)
Good luck! Be sure to include in your lawsuit $ for the veges you'll now have to buy at a farmers market (BIG BUCKS!), that you would have preserved/dried/frozen for future use, $ you have to spend to put your yard back to it's origional condition and $ to hire the kid down the street to weed it!

Not that I believe you don't have a great case, etc., but not all places require permits to fix something. In Ripley, a small town, I renovated a house: wiring, plumbing, sewage, heating, drywall - no permit needed for anything. Their code was simple -
Wiring: do a good clean job and don't use aluminum.
Sewage: do a good clean job and don't run it downhill too fast.

Bought a house in Cincinnati, 60 miles away. No shower in the bathroom. Called the city, asked them if I needed a permit. Yes, $60 fee, has to be inspected. Her: "can you give me the address where you plan to move?" Me: "No, goodbye!"

Again, not to throw cold water on making sure things are set right, but the contractor who is responsible has insurance. That should make it easy to get things fixed. But... if they decide to fight it, you will have to prove the property is yours. Sounds simple, but my neighbor and I got into a urinating contest a few years ago. He had a huge tree that died suddenly and was dropping large branches. He wanted me to pay half the cost (about $3,000) to have it cut down, saying it was also on my property. I was always told our boundary line was about a foot to my side of the tree and since my insurance would not cover tree removal, I refused to pay. Had he had the land surveyed and it showed the tree was indeed on my property, I would be partly responsible.

I guess what I am try to say is to start out gentle, asking for them to just do what is right and go from there.

YMMV

Mike

As I contractor I never even go on someone else's property without getting permission even if I know there will be no damage done.

Too bad. If you ever get to move, keep it in mind to have more room between houses. And lay off the hills. Get flat ground.

Whenever I've had workmen at my house and they feel they need to go onto a neighbor's property, they get permission first. I always ask them if they can still do the job if my neighbors say "no."

keepitlow must be renting and have no respect for OPP. Some people like hills and that's a property owners prerogative.

If the damage is minimal, I would forgive and forget. You should avoid a hostile relationship with a neigbor at all costs. You are in the right and they are in the wrong and you know that.

If the damage is substantial (grass will not grow back on its own, drainage or hill damaged) I would go over in a direct but non-confrontational manner and ask the neighbors to repair the damage or have their contractors repair it. Avoid lawsuits like the plague (especially with neighbors). Only file a lawsuit if the damage is substantial and there is no other way to resolve the situation.

I had a similar problem. In Ohio...the owner is responsible for the contractor's damage.

To keep from a neighbor spat, I contacted the contractor & he came and fixed it. Had he not...I'd have sued the neighbor.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all your advice. The work on the neighbor's side is done. and their yard now looks beautiful again - nicely sodded, well placed trees. My lawn is full of hay, grass seed, and chemical fertilizer/pesticide/herbicide. Did I mention all those chemicals and grass seed are all in my garden? So much for my attempts at organic gardening for the next several years to come.

Also, the the took out dirt on the hill so now the wood that frames out my garden bed has been pushed in a bit and is no longer flush with the ground. That'll make a great tripping hazard I can hardly wait for.

Finally, they put up to giant bails of hay blocking access to my backyard. My grass in the backyard is completely out of hand because I haven't been able to get to it for over a week now. My current roommate is moving out in two weeks and my new one is moving in in three weeks. Neither one of them will be able to to easily bring their heavy furniture up and/or down the side of the hill. And that's the only way to move heavy furniture in to the basement or out of it.

My husband has put a call into the landscaper/contractor. He wanted me to go with him to speak to the neighbor, but I didn't feel I could hold a civil conversation after seeing all the chemicals and grass seed put in my garden bed. I feel like this will get ugly before it gets better.

Again, thanks for reading my rant.

Wow, I would be seeing red.

However, this has been going on for several days, and it sounds like you haven't even expressed your concerns to the neighbor yet. I think the first thing to do is to suck it up and go have a civil conversation and request that everything that has been damaged be made right. If the conversation gets heated, force yourself to leave and document what happened before proceeding through a more formal avenue.

Good luck with your garden. I would insist that they remove any contaminated soil and replace it with new, organic compost in the beds.

I was seeing red. I do need to hold a conversation with my neighbor, but we have not been on the best terms for awhile now. Three summers ago one of their rescue dogs bit me in the face causing me to need seven stitches. Things have been strained since then.

Just two weeks ago I came outside to find my neighbors cutting down trees on my property. I quickly approached her about it, and she did stop. But she wouldn't hold a conversation. She kept saying "I don't want trouble." and walked away. My husband even came out and strung up a rope to mark the property line so she could see what trees she could cut down. But since she wasn't speaking to us, it didn't matter.

As for this current situation, they took the heavy machinery through my yard when both my husband and I were at work. The damage had already been done by the time we discovered it. We are reliant on the landscaper to fix the damage that has been done. Tonight I will go with my husband to have a conversation with the neighbor. I just couldn't do it and be civil last night.

Good Luck Veggiefairy.
Be calm and state your case.
Let us know how it turns out.

Good luck!! Sounds like your neighbor really needs a good slap on the wrist so she wouldn't do any other stupid things in the future. It is important to maintain a good relationship with neighbors but sometimes it just can't be done. Some people are just impossible to deal with.

Aren't there legal consequences in your area for harboring a dog that bites? And aren't there regulations requiring compensation or reimbursement? People like that need to recognize that making sure that their behavior doesn't harm their neighbors isn't just manners but is a legal mandate. Sometimes a letter from a lawyer with its hinted specter of potential court fees will make people see reason more quickly. Are you getting anywhere with the contractor? I am curious to know what the outcome will be to all of this.