US man ‘illegally’ chops 32 trees of his neighbor, now faces ₹12 crore penalty
2 min read 03 Jul 2023, 08:02 AM ISTA US man in New Jersey chopped down 32 trees belonging to his neighbor to improve his view, resulting in a $1.5 million penalty and replacement fees.
PremiumIn a bizarre incident, a 40-year-old US man chopped 32 trees that belonged to his neighbor in New Jersey because he wanted to get a better skyline view. However, Grant Haber now faces about ₹12 crore penalty, according to a report published by The New York Post.
Samih Shinway expressed his disappointment over the incident and said that his neighbor ‘Grant Haber’ had cut down a quarter acre of his beautiful oak trees, maples, and birches.
“It breaks my heart. It angers me. These trees take a very long time to grow," said Shinway as quoted by The New York Post.
In total, Grant Haber who is the CEO of an antiterrorism company needs to pay over USD 1.5 million ( ₹12,31,44,375) including fines and replacement fees. Initially, he was charged USD 32,000, which means USD 1,000 ( ₹26,27,080 – ₹82,096) per tree for cutting down the trees unlawfully.
Additionally, Haber also needs to replace the illegally removed trees with similar species. However, Shinway demanded USD 1.5 million ( ₹12,31,44,375) from his neighbor for adding new soil, cleaning up, and removing invasive species, the report read.
In March this year, Shinway caught some workers cutting down oak trees from his property and then the legal battle started between the two neighbors.
He heard the noise of chopping down trees and reached the spot to investigate where he found a bunch of chainsaw-sliced conifers.
“I saw a landscape truck, a dump truck-style truck, with a big, large shredder, and four landscape contractors on my property. They said…’The owner wanted a view of the city and the mountain range'" said Shinway as quoted by the New York Post.
Suddenly, Shinway called the police officials to stop the workers. He said that cutting down 40 trees and leaving them to waste for no reason is insane. Hence, he demanded the replacement of every single tree.
