how much are trees worth? dilemma

[Chuck Norris]

so we hired some people to clear our back yard, yesterday they cleared all the smaller trees.
today they started doing the bigger trees.
ive never spoken to the guy, but my wife has, and she say says she pointed out at least 3 times certain trees we wanted to keep (3 trees out of only like 10 that were remaining, so it wasn’t like it was confusing really). she just called and told me they cut down two of them. it wasn’t like they did them first by mistake, they were like the last ones left.
we didn’t do any estimates or anything that would indicate what trees to keep or whatever.

so anyway, the trees were fairly good sized, like ~50 feet tall or so, one oak, one red oak.
before he started, the fee was going to be $4500. what should it be now? would I be unrealistic to tell the guy im only giving him say $2500? $3500? $0? (btw, I think $0 would be as unfair as me paying the full amount)

[Boris]

what kind of trees are they? I think a decent lawyer could convince a jury that the contractors need to make things right. Which would mean replacing two 50ft. tall trees. This would cost way, way more than $4500. I think letting these guys off the hook for $4500 is a good deal for them.

[mbillie1]

I was kind of expecting to see a picture of... you know... some trees

[btmagnetw]

http://extension.usu.edu/forestry/Ho...reeIsWorth.htm

1. hire hire an ISA Certified Arborist
2. sue landscapers for thousands
3. no question marks
4. profit

[XXXNoahXXX]

[ QUOTE ]
what kind of trees are they? I think a decent lawyer could convince a jury that the contractors need to make things right. Which would mean replacing two 50ft. tall trees. This would cost way, way more than $4500. I think letting these guys off the hook for $4500 is a good deal for them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, but proof that they didn't want specific trees to get the axe might be hard to come by.

[Tron]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
what kind of trees are they? I think a decent lawyer could convince a jury that the contractors need to make things right. Which would mean replacing two 50ft. tall trees. This would cost way, way more than $4500. I think letting these guys off the hook for $4500 is a good deal for them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, but proof that they didn't want specific trees to get the axe might be hard to come by.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a hard time believing a jury will find some tree choppers more credible than CHUCK NORRIS'S WIFE.

[MediaPA]

Yeah, you should be able to get some compensation. If you go to court, it'll deal with a verbal declaration which isn't rock solid. This should have been spelled out in writing with a site drawing. Also it would have been smart to mark the trees to be kept or removed. (20/20 hindsight)

No I'm not a lawyer and I might be talking complete rubbish.

[Mingdu]

That's awful ... seriously, where did you find these guys?

[kevin017]

If this were me i'd prob offer 3500-4000, depending on how clear you were about not cutting these trees down. the more clear you were, and the more you liked the trees, the lower the price i think you can offer.

I'm betting if you took it to court/etc you could get it dropped to 0, but you'd also be a dbag, esp if you weren't clear.

[XXXNoahXXX]

Was it obvious which trees were to be left standing? Did you mark them or were they set aside from the rest?

If so, I tell them I'm not paying anything and they can take you to court if they like.