Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

My neighbor put a fence up about 15 feet into his property. My dogs run up and down along the fence with his dogs playing and barking at eachother. He does not want my dogs doing this and says that they are on his property and for me to keep them on my side. I told him he should have built the fence on the property line and that they are not hurting anyone and are just playing which they are just playing. He is now threating to put razor wire along the ground next to his fence and that would just rip my dogs up. Is that legal? He knows my dogs will get ripped to shreds and would be doing it out of spite. He has no reason to fear my dogs as they are the friendly and non threating and just want to play, just as his dogs want to play, he's just an axxhole. Since he put the fence up is that stretch of property that runs approx 15 ft wide by 125 ft long be concidered mine now? I really am mostly concerned about the legal issues of the razor wire though it would seem criminal too me for him to do this. Thank you for your time.

Asked on 9/05/11, 11:42 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

James Bates Law Office of James A. Bates

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How long ago did your neighbor put up the fence? If you wait too long the extra property he got becomes legally his by adverse possession. You need to sue him to move the fence and you need to do it before it is too late. As to the razor wire, you need to get a restraining order to prevent him from doing that.

Answered on 9/05/11, 2:50 pm

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Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

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I think Mr. Bates has misread the question. He seems to think the fence is 15 feet from the property line on your side, but you actually wrote that it is 15 feet from the line on the other side. That is an important difference, since it means your neighbor is not adverse possessing your land.

As to the question you asked:

In most communities, a dog owner is legally responsible for keeping his dogs on his property. It is not your neighbor's duty to restrain your dogs. You must keep them off his property, and that includes the part outside his fence. You can do that by building a fence of your own, by walking the dogs on leashes, by tying them up on ropes/chains that won't reach your neighbor's land, or by various other means. This is your duty and not his.

His plan to put up razor wire strikes me as very cruel and unwise. After all, he might ensnare neighborhood children. You should probably call the police if he does what he has threatened to do. But even if you can prevent him from putting up the razor wire, you will still be responsible for keeping your dogs off his land.

Answered on 9/05/11, 9:05 pm

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