US man sues neighbour over trees threatening his barn; appeals court rejects case

A disagreement between two neighbours in Michigan over trees that threatened a barn has ended with an appeals court ruling against the homeowner who wanted them removed. Seth Merle and Richard Hagopian had agreed to pay $2,000 each to remove the trees, but the work never happened. After a dispute over the money reached court, Merle filed another lawsuit over the same trees.

On September 23, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that he could not bring the case again because the issue had already been decided.According to the judgment, the dispute involved two neighbouring properties in Livingston County, Michigan. Merle had a barn at the back of his property, close to land owned by Hagopian. Several trees stood on Hagopian's side of the boundary, and some of their branches extended onto Merle's property.Merle was worried that the trees might fall onto his barn and cause damage.

He hired an expert to examine them, and the expert warned that some of the trees could fall onto his property within a year.