Shiel v. Rowell

**106 At the root of this case lies a distinctively neighborly type of dispute about who should have the responsibility for monitoring and cutting back an intruding tree. The defendants, Keli-Jo and John Rowell, 2 own the property adjacent to the plaintiff, Mary Shiel. On the Rowells' property sits a one hundred foot tall sugar oak tree with branches reaching over Shiel's property. Shiel filed a complaint with claims of private nuisance and trespass against the Rowells after the tree allegedly caused algae buildup on the roof of Shiel's home and the Rowells refused to cut it down. Shiel…