Ex-neighbours locked in battle over cedar trees

No one wants to back down in small-claims fight

THEY WERE ONCE neighbours, but now they’re enemies in a $15,000 small claims battle over dead trees.

Vince Campisi is accusing Russell Danby of deliberately destroying the cedars he planted in the backyard of his central Mountain home.

Danby, who has since sold his East 17th Street bungalow, has pleaded his innocence, and for a judge to toss the case, which he says is baseless.

“This has just been a nightmare,” he told The Spectator, complaining about the financial and emotional toll the years-long dispute has taken on him.

Campisi declined to discuss his claim, which he launched in 2014.

“This case is still before the courts, so I can’t comment. I’ve talked with my lawyer,” the human resources administrator said Monday.

In his claim, Campisi says he planted the cedars on his side of a shared fence that divided the neighbours’ backyards in May 2012.

While he was planting the trees, Danby, “for no apparent or legitimate, reason, expressed his dislike for the trees and threat- ened to cut and kill” them, the claim alleges.

In mid-August, the trees were “blooming and very healthy,” but by the end of the month, four of the trees started to die. Campisi says he saw a “mysterious white residue on the branches and leaves of the dying cedar trees.”

In September 2012, the plaintiff says he bought new cedars to replace the dead ones and noted they’d been cut on his side of the fence.

Police were called to investigate the allegations. One officer’s report included in the court file noted police “cautioned” and “reminded” Danby to only trim branches on his side of the property.

“There is no evidence to support any charges at this time,” the officer concluded.

Danby, an industrial engineer who works in the steel industry, has denied the allegations, calling them “frivolous” in an interview last week.

Peter Volaric, Campisi’s lawyer, rejects that, saying more evidence will be presented.

“It’s very unusual that 10 trees, or however many there were, died simultaneously ... There is another side to this story,” Volaric said Monday.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

The Ontario government says about 135,000 small claims are issued in the province every year compared to 178,000 civil case filed in other areas of the court system.

The Ministry of the Attorney General notes small claims is “intended to be the forum where smaller disputes are resolved in a timely, inexpensive and informal manner.”

The cedar tree row is running on the “longer side” as far as small claims matters go, says Sarah O’Connor, a corporate and civil lawyer with offices in Toronto and Hamilton.

“I normally advise my clients it’s about two years.”

O’Connor says there tends to be more leeway in small claims court compared to superior court, where heftier cases are litigated.

“Small claims is the court of the people. The rules of evidence are a little more relaxed. How you question witnesses are more relaxed. The judges are used to lay people arguing their case.”

Unless both sides have lawyers, most cases go to trial, she noted.

At one point in the sappy battle, Danby launched a counterclaim of $20,000 for the cost of selling his home, time spent preparing his defence, loss of wages due to days off and stress.

The 57-year-old single dad hired a lawyer and says he has spent about $3,000 on legal fees. He’s now representing himself.

Danby says he’s frustrated with adjournments the plaintiff ’s lawyer has requested, likening it to a “war of attrition.”

That had nothing to do with the merits of the case, but personal matters, such as a funeral that clashed with a court date, Volaric counters.

“I would expect my client to show a similar understanding, but Mr. Danby didn’t. That was his right.”

Volaric notes the judge wasn’t willing to grant the adjournment, so he and his client are pursuing a judicial review in divisional court.

He says efforts have been made to resolve the dispute.

Danby acknowledges his opponent offered to settle but says he now wants to see the matter through in divisional court, where he hopes to recoup $750 in court costs.

“I just want this thing gone from my life, but I’m not willing to be used as a punching bag ... and these people just walk away.”

O’Connor says the bar for small claims disputes has been set too high. The province’s decision to raise the cap to $25,000 from $10,000 a few years ago hasn’t been helpful, allowing for more complex disputes in the forum.

Volaric disagrees, arguing the higher cap boils down to allowing access to more people.

“Once you get into superior court, the cost for the litigants increases substantially.”

I just want this thing gone from my life, but I’m not willing to be used as a punching bag. RUSSELL DANBY