The neighbor dispute lawyers at the Katz Law Group have secured a preliminary injunction for one of their clients in an ongoing conflict between two neighboring families in South Grafton that has involved documented incidents of trespassing and possible alterations of the boundary lines.

The victory is just one example of the quality of the legal representation that the attorneys at the firm can provide.

Boundary Line Provokes Dispute

The case involves two neighbors who got along for a decade before things soured in 2022. The dispute centers on a fence that runs a few feet from the boundary line between the neighbors. Over the course of several years starting in September, 2022, one neighbor was caught on video:

• Mowing the lawn at night on the other side of the fence
• Digging on the other side of the fence, shouting insults, and refusing to leave when requested
• Blowing leaves and dumping dirt on the other side of the fence and refusing to leave
• Hosing the dirt around a boundary stake, while a mallet was on the ground near the stake for suspicious purposes
• Shining a bright light directly onto the neighbors' property at night

During this time, both neighbors called the police on each other multiple times. At one point, the police arrived and were shown a video of the neighbor moving stones over the property line and photos of missing boundary stakes. When confronted about the stakes, the neighbor claimed that they had been inaccurate, even though they were placed by a surveyor.

The neighbor, who claims to have merely been doing yard work in the few feet of his property on the other side of the fence, also sought harassment prevention orders against the client of the Katz Law Group, but in the end was unsuccessful both times. Both neighbors successfully got no-trespass orders against each other.

Preliminary Injunction Procured

After filing a civil lawsuit against the neighbor for trespassing and nuisance, the lawyers at the Katz Law Group asked for a preliminary injunction against the neighbor to prevent further trespassing and neighbor harassment. After a hearing last month, the Superior Court in Worcester granted it, finding that the plaintiffs would likely succeed on the merits of the case, and that the neighbor's contentions that the boundary lines were inaccurate and that he had not been trespassing were unsubstantiated, as he had not gotten the property surveyed, while the clients of the Katz Law Group had gotten it professionally surveyed twice.

The Key Lesson: Document, Document, Document

According to David S. Katz, partner of the Katz Law Group and an experienced neighbor dispute lawyer, “The takeaway from this case is just how important it is to document a harassing neighbor's misconduct. Our clients had numerous videos of the neighbor trespassing on their property and refusing to leave, and that helped us secure a court order for the neighbor to stop while the case worked its way through the court system.”

Massachusetts Neighbor Dispute Attorneys at the Katz Law Group

If you are having a serious dispute with your neighbors in central Massachusetts, call the Katz Law Group at (508) 480-8202 or contact them online for effective legal representation.