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The incident occurred in 2024, when an electric company hired a tree service to clear land for a solar farm in Rockingham County. More than 30 trees belonging to another property owner were cut during the operation, according to the firm’s account.
The property boundaries had already been surveyed and marked before the clearing work began, according to the law firm representing the affected landowner. Despite this, workers apparently misunderstood which trees they had been instructed to remove and crossed onto neighbouring land.
A routine land-clearing project in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, turned into a costly property dispute after workers hired to prepare land for a solar farm mistakenly cut more than 30 trees belonging to a neighbouring landowner. The trees, some with trunks up to 26 inches in diameter, had also served as a visual buffer between the homeowner’s property and the solar farm. Following months of litigation and mediation in early 2026, the case ended with a $100,000 settlement. More than 30 trees were removed from the wrong property despite the boundaries reportedly having been marked, and the affected landowner pursued claims against both the tree service and the electric company. After the failed insurance demand, months of litigation and mediation, the case was settled for $100,000 in 2026, according to the law firm representing the property owner.
The law firm said it submitted a demand to the tree service’s insurance company, but no settlement offer was received. After an insurance demand failed, the landowner sued the tree service and the electric company. After discovering that the trees had been removed, the property owner hired Welts, White & Fontaine, PC, with attorney Israel F. Piedra handling the matter. The dispute subsequently moved into litigation. The property owner filed a lawsuit in Rockingham County Superior Court against both the tree service and the electric company over the cutting of the trees on the neighbouring property. What began as a mistake during a solar-farm clearing operation ultimately became a six-figure legal dispute. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The property boundaries had reportedly been surveyed and marked before the work began, but the tree-service workers apparently misunderstood which trees they were supposed to remove.
Case went through months of litigation
The stumps reportedly measured between 7 and 26 inches in diameter, indicating that some of the trees were substantial. The matter eventually went to mediation in early 2026, giving the parties an opportunity to resolve the dispute without taking it through a full trial. The mediation resulted in a $100,000 settlement.
The case therefore involved not only the cutting of trees but also their importance to the property’s appearance and surroundings. Because the amount was agreed through settlement, rather than awarded by a judge, it should not be described as a $100,000 fine or court-ordered damages award.
The law firm’s case summary says they provided a partial visual buffer between the affected property and the solar farm. The dispute continued for several months as the parties went through discovery and litigation, according to the law firm’s account. The trees were not merely timber standing on unused land. Their removal changed the view from the property and reduced the natural screening between the homeowner’s land and the solar installation.