Tree next door too shady? You can't force your neighbor to cut it down, at least in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, there’s a whole branch of tree law stating that a property owner’s rights to let their tree grow on their own land is absolute, no matter the consequence to a neighbor. In fact, this doctrine is so rooted in Massachusetts law it’s called the Massachusetts Rule, so take it or leaf it.

In Shiel v. Rowell, the Massachusetts SJC considered whether the defendants, whose sugar oak tree cast such a large shadow on the plaintiff’s land that her roof developed algae, could be forced to cut or trim the tree on their own property. However, Massachusetts courts have long held that a landowner cannot hold a neighbor liable for damage from healthy trees (although one does have the right to trim encroaching branches or roots). The plaintiff urged the court to adopt the Hawaii Rule, which allows landowners to file suit against tree owners and force the neighbor to cut branches or roots if harm has occurred or is imminent. The court declined to depart from the Massachusetts Rule because, chiefly, allowing such suits to go forward would tie up the courts with neighbors “with an axe to grind for reasons other than purported tree problems.”

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And for the full opinion with more of the SJC’s own puns, click here: Shiel v. Rowell, 480 Mass. 106, 101 N.E.3d 290 (2018)