WHO OWNS AN OVERHANGING TREE?

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XXVII, Issue 1345, 17 November 1931, Page 2

WHO OWNS AN OVERHANGING TREE?

A man lias no right to any portion 0 of a tree or the jfruit thereof that niay 6 overhang ■ his property, while growing on a -neighbour's -land. , / Such is the interesting verdict ree. ported by the Royal. English -Arbori--1 cultural Society as follo ( ws .:___ v l : "A. case dealing with this point s .came before His Honour Judge Parry, c several apple treejs growing on his, at Mailstone. The plaintiff had _ land about eight feet from the boun- ~ n dary. The branches of these trees a overhung the land of the defendant. " The defendant picked the apples off a the branches - and sold them. The c plaintiff brought an action ifor wrongful conversion, and was awarded ,£Kf damages. The contention on the part , g of the defendant was that, as he had s 'the right to lop the branches of the. trees which overhung his land, he had the. right to pick the apples. ' «;y ,*, . * <His Honour said (inter alia) thS -Ha- _ fendant's right s to lop could nd* be c ? onteste< *> assuming that it was, done m a reasonable way, m accordance with the custom? bf fruit fanners^ at. h . a -proper season, and without uiSjiecf _ essary injury to the tree. Whei^the branches were severed, however^ .that did riot give the defendant any. property m them or. m. the fruit bn?^_|m. . . In law the branches or fruit, iwiich )g formerly savoured of real property, had then hy severance become per[e sonal property, but the' property rer mained m the owner of- the tre&-"