It’s a Fine Line: Neighbor Sits In to Save a Tree

It was a recipe for trouble: A leaning pine tree near a property line and two neighbors with a disagreement.

On Tuesday, as workers from a tree company lopped off lower branches of the tree and prepared to cut it down, 62-year-old Bill Duckett--over whose property the tree leans--climbed past them into the upper branches to keep the workers from finishing the job.

And there he sat for several hours. Police, fire trucks and the news media came and went from the Los Angeles neighborhood just east of Marina del Rey.

After awhile, next-door neighbor Jerry Goodkind--who owns the patch of ground where the tree trunk meets the earth--called off the tree crew for the day, and eventually Duckett swung back down to earth via a rope supplied by his son.

But Duckett insisted that he’s ready to shinny back up the trunk at a moment’s notice if anyone tries to attack the tree again.

That leaves Goodkind in a bind. He is trying to sell the house on the property, but his buyer has demanded that the tree be removed to eliminate any possible liability should it fall onto Duckett’s property. Escrow cannot close on the deal until the tree is removed, Goodkind said.

Duckett said he was upset that he was not consulted in the decision to cut down the tree, and wants to be paid for allowing tree cutters to set foot on his property.

While perched in the tree, Duckett said that he wanted $500,000 for such permission. Throughout the incident, he took careful notes, saying they were for a lawsuit he intends to file.