A municipal court judge on Thursday denied a request to delay the trial of a Kinnelon homeowner accused of having 32 of his neighbor’s trees cut down to improve his view of the New York skyline. The judge instead set a Dec. 15 trial date for the defendants − Denise Drive resident Grant Haber and two tree services he hired for the job.
Haber faces a trove of local ordinance violations for each of the trees allegedly cut down without the permission of his next-door neighbor, Samih Shinway, an incident that sparked a viral wave of online outrage earlier this year.
The accumulated summonses issued by the township forester for those charges totaled $32,000, or $1,000 per tree. During Thursday’s online hearing, borough Prosecutor Kim Kassar said that related damages and restitution, including removal of the old trees and replanting and stewarding of new ones, could run in excess of $1 million.
“We’re certainly dealing with substantial penalties,” Kassar said, referring to the fines. “But those pale in comparison to the potential restitution claims, which are approaching or may exceed seven figures.”
Grant Haber case goes viral
The incident drew national attention after a friend of the borough forester posted a thread on Twitter that was viewed almost 3 million times. Haber’s first online court appearance in June had to be delayed when members of the public flooded the Zoom call to beyond capacity.
Judge Andrew Wubbenhorst made his ruling on Thursday during a virtual conference with defense attorneys who requested more time for discovery. Results of two expert site visits have yet to be shared with the state.
Haber’s attorney, Matthew Mueller, also requested more time while a homeowner’s insurance claim by his client is processed. If approved, the claim could help underwrite the fines and restitution.
Facing charges along with Haber are the two tree service operators he hired: Ronald Fallas, doing business as Choco Tree Service in Newark, and Greg Brancaleone of Father & Son Tree Service in Kinnelon.
‘Disrespectful act’:NJ man speaks after officials say neighbor had his trees cut down
Kassar said he believed those operators also were exploring the possibility of filing liability insurance claims.
“Although the state is certainly anxious to move this to trial as well, [the insurance claim] is in its relative infancy and would go a long way toward potentially providing a resource, or deep pockets, to resolve the issue perhaps outside of this court ordering restitution,” Kassar said. “Without exploring that issue, it puts us in an unfamiliar position when dealing with a restitution claim of this magnitude.”
But Wubbenhorst, who has seen several delays in a case originally set for trial on Sept. 22, was not convinced.
“That’s not going to happen,” he said of further delays. “For the large part of my career, I did civil litigation and it can take years to resolve insurance claims.”
The judge, however, remained open to “bifurcating” the trial “to determine guilt or innocence first,” before going back to determine damages and restitution.
“We can talk about that, but we’ve got to have a trial,” Wubbenhorst said. “But we’re not going to put the cart before the horse.”
Kinnelon trees cut for ‘a better view’
Both the Haber and Shinway properties include luxury homes on 7-acre, mostly wooded lots where trees limit backyard views of the New York City skyline and a nearby reservoir. In a June interview, Shinway speculated that the motivation for the tree-culling may have been for “a better view.”
“Why would anybody feel that they had the right to encroach on somebody’s property, that’s clearly outlined by their own fence, and do as they please on somebody else’s property?” Shinway asked. “It just felt like a very egregious act, almost too egregious. A disrespectful act.”
Haber did not appear in Thursday’s Zoom conference, but Mueller confirmed he was logged in and had agreed to the virtual format.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven
www.dailyrecord.com
https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/local/morris-county/2023/10/26/kinnelon-nj-man-cut-neighbors-trees-heavy-costs/71332085007/
