If the complaint was retaliation, it had backfired.
But I had no proof who filed it.
So we did not claim what we could not establish.
That became another rule.
Documentation is strongest when you resist adding things you merely suspect.
Pressman then moved to change venue.
Claimed newcomers from the city might face local bias.
Motion denied.
Property located there.
Parties lived there.
Alleged conduct occurred there.
Case stayed.
Next:
Mediation.
Neutral office.
Tuesday.
Gary.
Sandra.
Pressman.
Me.
Thomas.
Mediator.
My attorney walked through the case.
No speeches.
Photographs.
Survey.
Arborist.
Text.
Logging statement.
Good-faith defense problem.
Damages.
Pressman answered:
Boundary confusion.
Prompt compensation.
Inflated valuation.
Thomas pointed to 22.4 feet.
Then the logging statement.
Then Gary’s text.
The room grew quiet.
First serious offer:
$22,000.
Confidentiality.
I declined.
Next:
$28,000.
Limited confidentiality.
Declined.
Then:
$32,000.
No confidentiality.
Dismissal with prejudice.
Full release.
Thomas looked at me.
His expression meant:
This is a legitimate offer.
I asked for twenty-four hours.
Pressman disliked that.
Mediator allowed it.
I drove home.
Made coffee.
Sat on the porch.
Looked east.
For the first time since the trees came down, I could see the lake uninterrupted from that spot.
The Warners could too.
They had achieved their goal.
That bothered me more than I expected.
Money could compensate.
It could pay legal bills.
Repair ground.
Plant replacements.
But if I took thirty-two thousand and stopped, the view Gary created by trespass would remain.
Every sunset would reward the decision.
Maybe that is irrational.
Maybe not.
I opened the county zoning code.
Then landscape provisions.
Agricultural-residential parcel rules.
Setbacks.
Plantings.
Fences.
Accessory structures.
I called two nurseries.
Then a landscape contractor.
Finally Thomas.
“I’m declining.”
Long pause.
“Because the offer is inadequate?”
“Not only.”
“What else?”
“I’m going to replant the boundary.”
“Good.”
“Not maples.”
Silence.
“What are you thinking?”
“Green Giant arborvitae.”
“How many?”
“Forty-three.”
Another silence.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Are you doing this because it is appropriate landscaping or because it blocks their view?”
“Both.”
Thomas laughed despite himself.
Then became serious.
“Do not install anything unlawfully.”
“I won't.”
“Check setbacks.”
“I have.”
“Any restrictive covenants?”
“None.”
“HOA?”
“None.”