Johnson & anor v Shadbolt & anor [2014] NSWLEC 1008

Johnson & anor v Shadbolt & anor [2014] NSWLEC 1008

The Leyland Cypress hedge, forming a hedge exceeding 5.8m along the respondents' southern boundary, severely obstructs sunlight to the applicants' ground floor family room windows. Having weighed the obstruction against the respondents' privacy interests and other relevant considerations, the appropriate order is to require annual pruning of the hedge to 4.2m in height to provide adequate sunlight while preserving reasonable privacy.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
17 January 2014
Procedural Posture
Tree Dispute Application / Principal Judgment
Outcome
Application upheld in part.
Legal Topics
['trees and Hedges' 'obstruction of Sunlight' 'neighbour Disputes' 'privacy' 'remedial Orders']
['property Law' 'environmental Law'] ['trees and Hedges' 'obstruction of Sunlight' 'neighbour Disputes' 'privacy' 'remedial Orders']

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Procedural Posture

Tree Dispute Application / Principal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether respondents' hedge severely obstructs sunlight to applicants' windows under s 14E(2)(a)(i) Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006" "Whether applicants' interest in removing obstruction outweighs potential undesirable interference with trees under s 14E(2)(b)" 'Appropriate orders concerning hedge height and maintenance']

Ratio Decidendi

The Leyland Cypress hedge, forming a hedge exceeding 5.8m along the respondents' southern boundary, severely obstructs sunlight to the applicants' ground floor family room windows. Having weighed the obstruction against the respondents' privacy interests and other relevant considerations, the appropriate order is to require annual pruning of the hedge to 4.2m in height to provide adequate sunlight while preserving reasonable privacy.

Court Disposition

Application upheld in part.

Orders

  • ['Respondents to engage and pay for a suitably qualified arborist or horticulturalist to prune the Leyland Cypress hedge along their southern boundary to a defined level as specified in paragraph 22 (4.2m measured from ground level at a reference palm).' 'Pruning to be carried out in accordance with AS4373: 2007 and...