mcppalmbeach What an awful story! Did this photographer at least go out of business or be shunned by her community? I hope she's not out there messing with others and their precious memories.
mommyatty That is a VERY satisfying story! She strikes me as the kind of person who would trash the house before it was repossessed.
I wonder what happened to make her become so unhinged? Was she attacked by a Japanese Maple in her past?
She seems like one of those people who moves into a neighborhood or township (or another places with HOA rules or municipal ordinances) for the convenience, then complains relentlessly about how there are are so many rules to follow. Susan, if you don’t like rules, go live in the country.
I hear what you’re saying tacokick about litigation being stressful for the parties (insert, “trust me, I’m a lawyer”). However, I might have guessed you in particular would be on the side of pursuing the civil suit - it was you who played the extremely long (and ultimately deliciously victorious) game with that professor over your Ray Charles paper, right? Lol.
It was me with Ray Charles! Ha! Good memory!
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
I hear what you’re saying tacokick about litigation being stressful for the parties (insert, “trust me, I’m a lawyer”). However, I might have guessed you in particular would be on the side of pursuing the civil suit - it was you who played the extremely long (and ultimately deliciously victorious) game with that professor over your Ray Charles paper, right? Lol.
It was me with Ray Charles! Ha! Good memory!
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
So, I get what you’re saying here, but it seems entirely possible, likely even, that this will escalate to the point of endangering people or pets if they DON’T do something now. I’d hope that if they take action, while she may not improve, she’d be less likely to go completely unhinged because “eyes” will already be on her. I’d see pressing charges as a preventative / safety measure of sorts.
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
So, I get what you’re saying here, but it seems entirely possible, likely even, that this will escalate to the point of endangering people or pets if they DON’T do something now. I’d hope that if they take action, while she may not improve, she’d be less likely to go completely unhinged because “eyes” will already be on her. I’d see pressing charges as a preventative / safety measure of sorts.
plus, I don’t know that the OP really expects $$ from this. The main goal here is to hold this woman accountable and get her to leave them alone.
So, I get what you’re saying here, but it seems entirely possible, likely even, that this will escalate to the point of endangering people or pets if they DON’T do something now. I’d hope that if they take action, while she may not improve, she’d be less likely to go completely unhinged because “eyes” will already be on her. I’d see pressing charges as a preventative / safety measure of sorts.
plus, I don’t know that the OP really expects $$ from this. The main goal here is to hold this woman accountable and get her to leave them alone.
The whole point of the civil process would be to collect money.
I hear what you’re saying tacokick about litigation being stressful for the parties (insert, “trust me, I’m a lawyer”). However, I might have guessed you in particular would be on the side of pursuing the civil suit - it was you who played the extremely long (and ultimately deliciously victorious) game with that professor over your Ray Charles paper, right? Lol.
It was me with Ray Charles! Ha! Good memory!
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
These are all fair points you bring up so Mel knows exactly whats ahead.
I'm curious though, how many of the cases have you sat through where the perpetrator was caught in the act on video?
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
So, I get what you’re saying here, but it seems entirely possible, likely even, that this will escalate to the point of endangering people or pets if they DON’T do something now. I’d hope that if they take action, while she may not improve, she’d be less likely to go completely unhinged because “eyes” will already be on her. I’d see pressing charges as a preventative / safety measure of sorts.
I think it really could go either way! People get very angry when they are sued. The police already have not been a deterrent.
So, I get what you’re saying here, but it seems entirely possible, likely even, that this will escalate to the point of endangering people or pets if they DON’T do something now. I’d hope that if they take action, while she may not improve, she’d be less likely to go completely unhinged because “eyes” will already be on her. I’d see pressing charges as a preventative / safety measure of sorts.
I think it really could go either way! People get very angry when they are sued. The police already have not been a deterrent.
The police have been involved for like 5 mins so far. Lol. I don’t think that’s enough time to make any determination of how effective anything is or will be.
You’re right, revenge and the long game is usually my style but I worked in Permits and Zoning right out of college and sat in on so many lawsuits like this that never went the way the clearly wronged parties hoped. The wronged parties always looked like zombies and the littlest things dragged on years! The people who did the “crimes” were always unhinged but well rested looking. That really stuck with me.
In this case, the tree is gone and it’s sad and wrong and awful but I don’t know if trying to get money from this woman is going to feel as good as you’d think. Especially since I doubt she will pay up and will do anything she can to drag it out. I would say stick it out of it was like structural damage to the house, violence or dangerous situations, something involving people and pets etc but you can’t bring back the tree.
These are all fair points you bring up so Mel knows exactly whats ahead.
I'm curious though, how many of the cases have you sat through where the perpetrator was caught in the act on video?
Quite a few! But then they refused to pay and they kept having to go back to court or the judge didn’t agree to the claims for whatever reason or didn’t think it was a big deal and then they just were told not to vandalize private property again and nothing really happened.
The whole point of the civil process would be to collect money.
But we’re also talking about criminal charges in this thread.
Okay. I responding to the OP maybe not expecting or wanting money. If she doesn’t want money then there is no reason to file a civil case. If the police want to file charges they can do that.
I contracted someone to take photos of my son’s first year and do an album. The photographer lost his one year photos and repeatedly lied about it for months, including sending me a Cd she knew had no images. I begged her repeatedly to just tell me the truth so I could have new ones done and she lied over and over. I eventually sued her and she failed to show up in court.
I have this same story and a landlord and a security deposit. We “won” in court, but he really was the winner. Turns out that ignoring a civil suit is a fantastic way to not pay up. You literally do nothing and let the other party exhaust themselves.
But I sounds like there are two cases here. A criminal case and a civil case. Doesn’t the government do the follow through with criminal cases? I’d forget any sort of self filling civil suit and cooperate with the police and state while they do their thing.
We put a lien on her house and forgot all about it for two years until she tried to sell the house and was forced to pay us first - lol
plus, I don’t know that the OP really expects $$ from this. The main goal here is to hold this woman accountable and get her to leave them alone.
The whole point of the civil process would be to collect money.
But, the whole capitalism concept it that bad behavior costs money. So, while you would be suing for money, the money is often secondary to the goal, which is to punish bad behavior with the only option legal outside the criminal charges.
To offer an alternative suggestion. I see many families waiting on the civil lawsuit (check time limits) until after the criminal case. That way if they are satisfied with the criminal case they don’t need to proceed with a civil case. I see some pursue the civil case when the criminal case does not go the way they want.
Civil judgments are good for more than just collecting money. Even if OP never sees a dime, there will be a record of a civil judgment on this woman’s record, and a lien docketed against her property if she doesn’t pay. OP can walk away entirely, if she wishes, after receiving a judgment in her favor and there will still be negative consequences for the neighbor if she wants a loan, wants to sell her home, or even in some cases if she wants a job and her potential employer checks civil records.
tacokick, I am sure you’ve seen many people running themselves ragged trying to collect on a judgement, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
The whole point of the civil process would be to collect money.
But, the whole capitalism concept it that bad behavior costs money. So, while you would be suing for money, the money is often secondary to the goal, which is to punish bad behavior with the only option legal outside the criminal charges.
And that’s what you’d have to decide is worth it to you or not. In this case it seems like criminal charges can be (were?) made so the main reason for a civil case would be collecting money.
A criminal case and a civil case. Doesn’t the government do the follow through with criminal cases? I’d forget any sort of self filling civil suit and cooperate with the police and state while they do their thing.
Eh, it might be state dependent but in my experience even criminal doesn't do much if they don't show up. We had someone break into our house, break down a door, and strip the copper. They got caught, we showed up to court, and they never did and that was the last we ever heard about it.
Civil judgments are good for more than just collecting money. Even if OP never sees a dime, there will be a record of a civil judgment on this woman’s record, and a lien docketed against her property if she doesn’t pay. OP can walk away entirely, if she wishes, after receiving a judgment in her favor and there will still be negative consequences for the neighbor if she wants a loan, wants to sell her home, or even in some cases if she wants a job and her potential employer checks civil records.
tacokick , I am sure you’ve seen many people running themselves ragged trying to collect on a judgement, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Yes! It can hurt your credit. I once had a landlord come after me for 2500 after I left an abusive relationship. I’m insane about documenting and photographing on move in and move out and at court it was brought down to $236 which I paid the next day. Stayed on my credit for ten years which sucked. mcppalmbeach I’m very sorry that happened, I’d be so sad. But know it did hurt her later, having an unpaid judgment on your credit report is bad.
DH and I sued a crazy landlord when we were in our 20s and won. She did pay up. It was 100% worth it and I sincerely hope it made her think twice before making wild, untrue accusations against her renters.
I’m pro civil and criminal charges here. I can’t even understand what would possess someone to do something like that without even first saying something about her concerns.
Sorry, I logged off for the weekend and am just coming back to this thread.
We have to wait for the city law director to review the evidence, statements, and speak with the detective before we can formally press charges. We 100% are pressing charges after stewing on it this weekend. We're going to wait and see what charges the law director brings to see if we should continue with a civil lawsuit. We want to replant a tree, so even if we get the money from her to cover that, we consider it a win in our book.
Some history on this lady: She lives alone, late 50s/early 60s. She was married once and divorced 26 years ago (yay public records!). She has no children. We've never seen anyone so much as visit her over at her house. She's lived in her house since 1997 so I'm sure she feels some kind of superiority because she's one of the "elders" in the neighborhood. We talked to the neighbor directly next to her on the other side and they said she does give them grief about their kids playing in the pool. She literally is just a miserable person.
DH half-heartedly joked that we'd drop all charges and lawsuits if she agreed to sell us her house. And he's willing to take on a second mortgage just to get her gone. I am kind of loving that idea, lol.
mel I am glad you are pursuing charges. I'm sorry about the tree though. Did you leave the stump where it was? It wasn't a Japanese Maple, but when we had a live tree cut down it kept trying to co.e back for a few years and new growth was co.i g out of the cut stump. I k ow it won't fix it, but maybe your husband could have something of his Mom's original tree.
mel I am glad you are pursuing charges. I'm sorry about the tree though. Did you leave the stump where it was? It wasn't a Japanese Maple, but when we had a live tree cut down it kept trying to co.e back for a few years and new growth was co.i g out of the cut stump. I k ow it won't fix it, but maybe your husband could have something of his Mom's original tree.
Yes, the stump is still there. We didn't want to touch anything until we know what's going on. I suggested putting a planter on the stump, and DH liked that, so that's probably what we'll do.
Were you able to salvage any leaves? I was thinking one way to preserve it might be to press and laminate them into a bookmark or put one in a frame. I am so sorry you live next door to such an unhinged person.
Were you able to salvage any leaves? I was thinking one way to preserve it might be to press and laminate them into a bookmark or put one in a frame. I am so sorry you live next door to such an unhinged person.
We do have some branches still. I love the idea of pressing some into a frame, then putting a picture of MIL in it. Thank you for the idea!
Maybe it can grow back. That's what I am reading anyway.
Yes, this! mel, we had a Japanese Maple that we purposely trimmed down nearly to a stump and it grew back beautifully. They can be incredibly resilient.
Maybe it can grow back. That's what I am reading anyway.
Yes, this! mel , we had a Japanese Maple that we purposely trimmed down nearly to a stump and it grew back beautifully. They can be incredibly resilient.
This is giving me hope! We'll leave the stump and see what happens!
Yes, this! mel , we had a Japanese Maple that we purposely trimmed down nearly to a stump and it grew back beautifully. They can be incredibly resilient.
This is giving me hope! We'll leave the stump and see what happens!
You should plant a million more just to spite her. Try to propagate the foliage from the chopped tree.
I would also toss a bunch of wildflower seeds over the fence.