Tree removal contracts

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jasonw0586

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
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Location
Galion oh
I live in ohio and I knocked on a door to ask about some downed trees for firewood. The owners eventually contacted me on the phone and said you want it come get it please but we can't pay you. I wasn't asking for payment. Just the wood. Turns out they had a contract with unknown tree people. They came one day worked. Came next day at 6pm not much done there Friday and havent showed since..for 1 and 1/4 day there hasnt been much work done trees easy to fall down trees they really needed trimmed or removed were left as is....horribly they arent returning customers calls...even worse u guessed it already been paid in full...smh....went down the street and did another job!!..they have felled 4 to 6 trees out of I think 9 they needed and looks like they didnt remove anything more then the saw chips on their clothes..id love all this wood 5 minutes from my house lol but i dont want to get into any legal troubles. My question is in ohio what makes a contract legally binding? What justifies the tree company being in breech of the contract. The lady says her and her husband had a business and dont think it justifies an actual contract and they are in breech of it anyways. But they have a nice place and want it cleaned up lol...Im going to look at the "contract" tomorrow but id like some input from some professional professionals that have experience and understand contractual agreements any info is great thanks guys
 
There are any number of issues and implications in your post, but the question(s) seems vague.

Anyone who pays for contracted work before the work is performed--especially work by an unfamiliar operator-- should have their head examined. But that has nothing to do with you.

If you cut and remove wood from said property, you might or might not have anything to worry about. However, it could be wise to protect yourself by having the property owner draw up a statement that you both sign and date, stating that you are helping the owner by removing wood for your personal use and without charge.

The operator(s) in question might welcome seeing wood disappear without their labor being involved.

On the other hand, if the property owner signed a contract with the outfit that did the cutting, those folks could conceivably return and say their contract entitled them to the wood removed and that you are complicit in limiting their expected return from the job. Unless the contract specifies a time period for removal, the tree guys could claim no breach of contract, except on the part of the property owner giving away wood rightfully belonging to the contractor.

In contract law, "consideration" is a deciding factor. (In consideration of $1.00 paid by party A, party B agrees to . . . )

You're right to be cautious about proceeding.
 
Probably nothing will come of this contractual issue, but strange things can happen. One thing I have always followed is the money. Attorneys do not work for free or do they become interested in any thing unless they see a pay day ahead. Homeowner and contractors rarely have the necessary knowledge to file a suit that has any consequence. CB is correct in that being cautious will allow you free from worry about a deal gone bad. If you check documents that imply a contractual agreement then it will likely be clear what you should do. I find it interesting that wood could be so valuable that you would spend time to go look for it. Here I charge people or companies to haul away wood never for free. My neighbor has had two Pine trees about 30'' diameter taken down now he wants me to take them for free. My estimate was $200 per tree and he still wants them gone. Thanks
 
The contract means nothing to you. You are not a licensed and insured company. Some states do not require a license, but I think Ohio is much like MD, and does.. Heaven forbid you damage anything dropping a tree you are not trained to do. Worse yet, hurt somebody. You could be paying the rest of your life for a few cords of free wood. Did the homeowner tell you how many thousand dollars the job was, and you want to do it for free?

Now, when I say you are not trained to do this work, I don't mean you don't know how to start a saw and drop a tree. What I mean is when you are sitting before a judge, and he wants to see your degree in Forestry, Agronomy or Botany, and your license, insurance, and any accreditation, what are you going to show him.

So, when others may say, yeah, go get it, it's free wood! There is another side of that coin. Just want that knowledge available to you also. I was a licensed and insured Md Tree expert, retired now. Good luck.
 
Kept reading down a few posts. Getting bored with this virus stuff. Someone posted a link to some new OSHA info. This was the first thing I saw, "More people are killed while felling trees than any other logging activity".
 
I will not be dropping any trees...simply bucking up whats already down...none of which could be sold to the sawmill..i saw the contract and it very vague and unprofessional in my opinion..wood around here is a scarce commodity unless you own land to cut on...especially wood 5 minutes from my house and 5 feet from a driveway...they have not even cut down all trees as specified in the contract..to me it looks as if they took a few logs they could sell to the mill from the easily dropped trees that I for definately could have cut down..not near any power lines or any other obstacles left everything else including a giant tree right by their house which was supposes to come down ..which is why any of this "work" happened in the first place..left everything else...guys did another job right down the street..dodged calls then when they were reached said will be there tomorrow morning days went by and noone showed and now wont answer calls again..total of 8 trees they downed 6 total bill was 2700 and its been paid in full..im going to call them tomorroq and ask them if they mind if i clear whats down and go from thwre
 
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