Urban Trees and the Law: Reviewing the Basics

摘要

The topic of tree law continues to generate questions from the arboriculture/urban forestry community and is quickly becoming a subject of increasing interest and relevance. Ongoing concern about damage to property and injury to individuals raises important questions regarding liability, ownership, and responsibility.Courts often rely on two types of "laws" when issues are brought forward for litigation. As we know, legislative bodies draft statutes, or "written laws," that are regulated and enforced by agencies administered by an executive branch. In the United States, substantial latitude is provided to individual states in creating these statutes. Common law, or "case law," arises from the judicial interpretation associated with a court's authority to adjudicate these statutes. The body of common law may consistof a combination of legal theory, consideration of what other courts have ruled under similar scenarios (i.e., judicial precedent), and details of the circumstances at hand. While common law is most likely the type of law that will deal most with issuespertaining to trees, it is important to note that common law may be modified, and that legislative law has primacy over common law. Here we will review and detail some frequently discussed topics regarding trees and the law, exploring areas that will include negligence, nuisance, and trespass.