Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I would demand damages in excess of what you are asking. You can sue in small claims court for up to $7500 and you may be able to file online. If the tree was on your property, you can sue for punitive damages for trespass as well as for your actual expenses. The practical aspects of recovering your damages may hinge on your physical distance from the property and the cost of "flying down," possibly more than once.

Your damages for this form of trespass include your specific expenses you mention - all the costs associated with cleaning up the damage that they did to your property. You would also be entitled to any diminution of the value of your property from the loss of the mature tree, if any. You would need an appraiser, or at the very least a qualified realtor's opinion of value, to determine what, if any loss of value occurred. Also, if the loss of value to your property was minimal, but as your neighbors believe it greatly increased their "view equity," you could assert an equitable unjust enrichment cause of action and ask that they be ordered to pay you the increased value in their property so that they do not profit from their wrong. I'm not sure how far you would get, but it probably wouldn't hurt to call the police and see if you can file charges for vandalism and criminal trespass as well. We lawyers cannot threaten criminal prosecution to gain advantage in a civil action, but it is perfectly ethical to press criminal charges and then agree to dismiss them as part of a civil settlement.

You would need to show that:

(1) the neighbor willfully cut trees on your land; and

(2) the neighbor did not have good reason to believe that he was lawfully authorized to cut the trees on your land;

Damages are the reasonable cost of restoring the property as nearly as reasonably possible to its original condition. This is the cost of replacing the big old tree the neighbor cut down, plus costs. Maye $30,000 depending on the tree and the landscaping.

The above answers seem pretty accurate to me, but perhaps might be a bit confusing to the asking party. My suggestion is to look up and read the actual language of the applicable statutes. For example, Civil Code section 3346 describes when treble damages may be awarded, and what base figure will be trebled. Code of Civil Procedure sections 733 and 734 say more or less the same thing, with different phraseology. To get a complete picture, see if your city or county has any local ordinances regarding either (a) damaging landscape trees (potentially helpful) or (b) neighbors' right to maintain their view (potentially harmful to your case).