Another Blue Ridge Case: Why I’m seeing the same case on repeat.

We have a saying around the office every time we sign up, “Another Blue Ridge Case.” So, what is a Blue Ridge Case, and why do we keep seeing them?

A Blue Ridge Case is when a cabin owner cuts down his neighbor’s trees, without permission, to improve his mountain view. These cases also happen in Elijay, Mineral Bluffs, Helen, and all over North Georgia. There are a few variants of the Blue Ridge Case. We often see trees being topped (i.e. the top of the tree being cut off, but the trunk left standing) instead of being cut down completely. Topping, however, still kills the tree. We also see instances where a property owner will receive permission to remove, for example, two trees and then “accidentally” removes thirty trees. Others still will claim they did the victim a favor, saying something like, “By removing all those pesky trees I improved your view and thus your property values, you should be thanking me.” This is the Blue Ridge Case.

The motivation for this is usually money, not so much the views themselves. There was a surge in demand for cabins and cabin rentals during the early 2020’s during the pandemic. Many people overpaid for property or bought a cabin thinking they would live there full time. When the boom times ended many people found themselves underwater on an expensive asset, and they tried to rent the property out or sell it to cover the costs. A quick internet search for Blue Ridge real estate listings shows a lot of people trying to offload cabins right now. With a lot of supply on the cabin market and falling demand, cabin owners are desperate to improve the marketability of their property, either for rental or for sale. A cabin with a nice mountain view commands a higher rent/price than one without.

The cabin owners doing the cutting seem to think removing the trees is trivial and take an, “Ask for forgiveness, not permission,” mindset. I’ve also noticed that the cutters often cut on property that is not occupied full time or cut on property that is undeveloped. In both instances the cutters seem to think that part-time residents, or people who own undeveloped land, are less likely to notice or care if their trees are removed.

This situation is not an isolated anecdote. North Georgia cabins are a fraction of the state’s total property but a huge portion of our unlawful tree cutting cases. If you believe someone has unlawfully cut trees on your property, do not delay. Contact our firm now for a free consultation.