Neighbor disputes are the worst. It’s not like when you sue someone over a contract and the next time you see them is at a deposition, mediation, or trial. You have to live next to them. Most neighbor disputes don’t end up as lawsuits, but it happens.
I started my career at a small law firm but I left because the partners had the ethics of the Sopranos. Fortunately, I landed a fun case right away, one that was destined for trial: A neighbor dispute, with a twist.
My client had purchased a vacant lot for a song. The lot was on a lake. The previous owner, the seller, didn’t want the lot because the adjacent neighbors told him he could have the lot, but he couldn’t develop it, because they had “gardening easements”. The seller wasn’t into lawsuits and just wanted to get rid of the headache. My guy bought it.
The neighbors had planted vegetables on my guy’s land…