Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Wisconsin

I recently moved my 85 yr old mother into assisted living near my home in North Central WI and I am in the process of selling her house in Milwaukee. While she lived there she paid a neighbor boy to mow the lawn which he was asked to do after she moved out of the house. This neighbor boy has a lawn mowing business and agreed to mow the lawn as it needed it; depending on the rainful, etc. Other than rake leaves in the fall, mowing the lawn was all she, and I (I am her daughter) asked this neighbor boy to do on the property. About three weeks ago he took it upon himself to dig up all the wood surrounding four garden plots in the back yard along with ALL of the mature perennial plants; hostas, day lilies, columbine, bee balm ... to name a few. The back yard is now clumps of dirt and exposed tree roots where the perennials used to be; leaving the yard flowerless and unattractive to any potential buyers who see the house.

Two other neighbors saw him and his helpers digging up and removing this landscaping and one of them saw him planting the same type of plants in a yard a block away. I drove passed this yard a couple days ago and there were freshly planted hostas of the same variety as were growing, and now missing from my Mother's yard.

What can I do to be compensated for this loss/theft?? My mother is no longer able to handle her affairs, therefore I am her power of attorney.

Please advise me of my rights in this matter.

Thank you


Asked on 8/31/09, 4:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Safran Samster, Konkel & Safran, S.C.

This is not a civil rights question, but would instead be either a contract, intentional act or negligence claim. Depending upon what the neighbor boy believed he was to do, might allow you to pursue potential criminal charges and/or a civil claim against him or his parents, on behalf of your mother, with her power of attorney to you.

I assume that the agreement with the neighbor was not in writing. I am unclear if the neighbor boy was a minor or an adult. If the neighbor believed that his actions were part of his agreed-upon duties, then you might have a negligence claim against him for the damages that you can prove he caused which went beyond the agreed-upon duties. His negligent actions might be covered by a homeowners or renters insurance policy. If what he did was intentional, insurance would generally not provide any coverage for the damages. If the boy was a minor, then his parents might be liable for any damages which he caused, up to certain statutory limits.

You should probably obtain an estimate for the cost of putting the garden back to the way it was originally. That cost would be your potential damages. You can also decide to contact the police to report this as a potential crime and/or also contact the neighbor boy and/or his parents about what was done. Again, your other neigbors will have to be willing to act as witnesses to prove the he and his friends caused this damage to the yard and garden area.

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Answered on 9/08/09, 9:41 am


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