A few years ago, when I was not climbing due to a back injury, I stopped by my parents' place one day, after a neighbor had asked if they could have a branch or two over their roof removed from a mature Quercus palustris. The "tree surgeon' and his crew ( a 16 and a 17 yr old; none of the three using protective equipment) already had the entire top lowered out, several shingles ripped off the roof of my parents' house, two gouges in the siding, and a 5" diameter hole punched through their sidewalk. The tree was 3/4 on my parents' property, and I had always done the upkeep pruning. The 'lowering' took place 'through' a maple that was eight feet inside our property line. Damaged maple limbs, along with hung-up oak limbs remained in two of the leaders of the formerly three-leader tree. They had damaged the third leader to the point they had to remove it. I was livid and told them they were on our property and had no permission to be in our trees. They claimed they had gotten permission. I asked if they intended to leave the maple in that condition and their climber said, "I'll run up it and clean those snapped branches off (off course he would spike up the tree). I told him he ought to go visit this midget of a barber I know who would cut his hair by walking up his leg wearing spurs. The landscape value of the tree was determined to be about $20,000. In the end my parents, who are all too forgiving had them pay for the roof and sidewalk repair, and for a real arborist to come out and fuss-prune what was left of their maple. In the interest of keeping the peace with the neighbor my parents backed down. I feel this 'company' got off too easily.