75-year-old entitled neighbor "Fiona" moves her 20-year-old fence line so she can steal resident's fruit trees, resident pursues legal action: 'Your honor, she claims poverty but built a spite fence to steal fruit'

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  • An older woman wearing a hat and gardening gloves.
  • "Neighbor steals fruit trees with a tape measure and pettiness"

    TL;DR: 75-year-old neighbor spent 6 months ghosting me, then moved our 20-year-old fence line exactly enough to steal my four fruit trees. Claims she's
  • too poor to pay the $200 she owes me but somehow affords luxury vacations and a spite fence. I'm exploring my legal options and/or petty revenge.
  • My neighbor (75F) - let's call her Fruit Tree Fiona - is a ripe ole bitch. These four fruit trees have been on my side of the fence for 20+ years. Three owners before
  • me enjoyed them. Her late husband was cool with it. Everyone was happy. Trees made fruit. Life was good.
  • Then Fiona gets a new boyfriend (Contractor Craig) and suddenly decides that after two decades, she needs to "correct" the fence line. Not because it's broken. Not
  • because she needs space (she has SEVEN ACRES). Because she looked at my finally fruiting this year trees and thought - "technically these are mine. So I will take".
  • The 6-Month Torture: Starting in April, every few weeks: "Fence starting tomorrow!" Me: "Cool, where exactly? Can I see the survey?" -silence- This went on for MONTHS. I'd ask basic
  • questions and she'd vanish and then claim she doesn't know how to text back, email, or "I don't know why I'm not getting your text" bull . Also, I'm pretty sure California has a good fence neighbor law, she couldn't care less.
  • August: She files a "Corner Record" (basically a surveyor saying "yep that old marker from 1985 is still there" without checking if it's actually RIGHT). Now she's building a fence that:
  • • Grabs all four of my trees • Carves out a weird rectangle that doesn't match ANY of her other fence lines • Leaves the other 99% of her property exactly where it's been for decades
  • I finally reach her (had to call from my work number because she blocked me) and ask for the fence details so we can re-do our irrigation under the trees
  • because I'm not watering her - plants and didn't give a flying fuck. So not sure how I'll get in there now. I also mention the trees were part of why we bought the house. Her response nothing but: "Sounds like you got duped." BY YOU, FIONA. BY YOU.
  • An older woman standing in a greenhouse holding a cup of tea.
  • This is the same woman who: • Owes me $200 for shared driveway maintenance • Owes another neighbor $200 • Claims she "can't afford it" as a "poor old woman"
  • . • Takes luxury vacations every other month and let's us know "just got back from Europe/Tahoe/Disney World" • Is currently funding the fence rebuild
  • • Throws packages around on our shared driveway to hide them . • Opens packages that are not hers and goes "whoops"
  • • She had a cat that just d at our house because she refused to take it to the vet "I want it to on my pasture" - lady ... she's at our back door looking for food and care.
  • So do I: 1. Get my own survey - If her 40-year-old marker is off by even 6 inches, I'm framing it and hanging it in my window facing her house, but I don't have the money for this... $3k plus.
  • 2. Small claims court for the driveway money - "Your honor, she claims poverty but built a spite fence to steal fruit"
  • 3. Adverse possession research - 20 years of use in California? Probably won't work but I want her sweating
  • 4. The long game - When those trees need trimming and branches hang over MY side of the new fence? Asymmetrical haircuts for everyone. At 6 AM. With a loud chainsaw.
  • 5. Aggressive leaf collection Any leaves that blow onto "my" side? I'm collecting them. Saturday mornings. Loudest leaf blower I can find.
  • So - Fence is going up now. My trees that I've watered and pruned for years are suddenly "hers". I've documented everything (photos, videos, timeline). Called the county surveyor (didn't care),
  • enforcement officer (only if she breaks something), the actual surveyor (not their problem and a friend of hers), and now debating hired a property attorney (we'll see).
  • EDIT context: There was a written agreement when we bought the house stating that the fences may not be right BUT neighbor wouldn't want or care about the trees so they are considered our property.
  • She said she was going to move the fence, I asked for details, she didn't give them - only said "you can still keep your trees" - so we left the trees and the above/under ground irrigation alone.
  • Waited 48 hrs until actual construction to let me know that she's actually fencing my trees in and moving the fence ON the property line - not offset. CA law requires mutual agreement on property fences. There was none.
  • I don't have money to spare so I've just thrown up my hands and want to annoy her. Don't worry I'll "get over it".
  • An older woman wearing a green hat and apron.
  • 3daycondor • 18h ago You need a lawyer and a survey. I don't see any other options really.
  • Southern-Inside5... 16h ago • Didn't your title company require a survey when you bought the property? You should already have a survey and title insurance. Call them, this is why you paid for it.

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