Though you've asked them kindly to keep off your property, your neighbor's kids continue to pick apples from your tree.
Lo and behold, you pull into your driveway and see them a-pickin' again. They scatter and you walk a few houses down to talk with their parents.
You ring the doorbell but can see the activity in the kitchen. The kids' mother and your neighbor is peeling apples and baking pies. It even looks like she's packaging them in boxes that are typically reserved for selling baked goods. Surely they are not taking your apples and profiting!
The mother comes to the door but will NOT allow you to enter. The aroma of apple pies is wafting through the air. You ask rather bluntly if they are taking your apples and baking pies to sell. She gives you "the hand" and slams the door in your face.
What would YOU do?
File a lawsuit for trespass and conversion.
ReplyDeleteShe would leave me no choice but to get legal. I would call the cops for her trespassing and putting her children in danger. I would file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. There is a good chance that she is not licensed and she is using free labor which is illegal (You and your apple tree is the labor. You take care of it and grow the apples and she is not paying you for the profits it is bringing her).
ReplyDeleteThen she should donate some if not all of her profit to charity.
Set up a motion sensitive camera to catch pictures of the apple picking activity, attempt to get pics of the pies for sale, and file a cease and desist and a trespassing complaint.
ReplyDeleteUGHHHHH!!! How frustrating!!! How about get a huge dog and tie it to the tree?
ReplyDeleteBetter than a dog, offer to pooper scoop a big dog owner/friend's yard and put "land mines" under the tree.
ReplyDeleteOh...that's only in my evil fantasy. Seriously, I'd file a police report, call the health inspector (she's not allowed to sell commercial goods made in her home kitchen) and, if you have one, the Homeowners Association. They're the ones who will really make her life miserable!
Put up a fence or hedge, and do a better job of picking your apples as they ripen.
ReplyDeleteI doubt that "getting legal" will really improve the situation. But, you should definitely put up a no trespassing sign. Without it, when one of the dear children falls out of the tree and breaks his arm, you'll probably be liable for the "unsafe condition" when they sue you.
Call the police IMMEDIATELY before someone gets hurt.
ReplyDeleteI would buy a pie:)
ReplyDelete--Gretchen O.
Under the theory of "Attractive Nuisance" if one of the kids were hurt, she could argue that the Apple tree owner knew kids would be attracted to the Apple tree, thus the owner should have taken reasonable measures to prevent the kids from entering the property. Put up a no trespassing sign and then report her to the police for theft. If possible, block off the tree via fence, etc. to stop the children from entering.
ReplyDeleteI would pull the flowers out of her flower bed and return them to home depot for a cash refund. Maybe even help myself to those nice white rocking chairs on her porch.... She has established the mine is yours policy right? Haha
ReplyDeleteDitto to Anonymous about the Health Inspector and Homeowners Association. I, personally, have two thoughts on the matter. My first thought is to share the apples and protect myself by securing my property against future lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteMy second thought is also to protect myself and property...but with the following! If no Homeowners Association and it's unincorporated; I would get 2 well trained guard dogs, put in a high fence with barbed wire at the top, and file all the necessary complaints, going as high as I'm lawfully in my rights to go as a citizen to protect myself! Also, purchase hidden surveillance cameras around the outside of the home, just in case they try something crazy! Some people in this day and age aren't as compliant as when I was growing up with great neighbors! I know it's extreme and wouldn't have gone that far. I would have gladly shared some with her, but she had no regard for me or my purpose for the apples. Plus, she's encouraging her children to steal and endangering their lives! So, as a concerned parent, I would also talk to someone at Child Protective Services, tell them the story of her repeatedly encouraging her children to steal, causing them to become early menaces to society, and to the IRS for selling my stolen apples after I secretly get proof because she may be making enough money to declare them! Then we would take a long vacation until things cooled off, while someone stayed at our home, tending to it and the dogs!
Police report, homeowners association and hidden camera (for future trespasses).
ReplyDeleteWhy not have a Waltons Moment with her and ask if she's having her kids take your apples because she's financially embarrassed and needs the food? Then you'll either shame her into stopping or know if you need to render aid.
ReplyDeleteKeeping a dog, or dogs, is expensive and time consuming, and seems a bit muchly over some apples. And if they're over the property line, they're out of your jurisdiction anyway.