Sample report

What you get: the report, section by section

Every Dispute Assessment Report follows the same structure, so a neighbor, mediator, adjuster or judge who has seen one knows where to look in the next. A redacted PDF of a delivered report will be posted here with the client's consent; until then, this is the outline with the kind of language each section uses.

1. Summary

Half a page. Who asked for the report, what question was asked, what was found, what is recommended. Written so that someone who reads nothing else gets the answer.

Example: "The coast live oak (Tree 1) stands with its entire trunk on the 12 Maple Street parcel and is that owner's tree under Civil Code 833. Roots from Tree 1 are present under and have lifted the shared fence footing at three locations (Photos 6 to 9). The fence damage is consistent with root growth and not with the drainage issue raised by the owner. Tree 1 is in good condition and is not an elevated risk to either residence. Root pruning within 4 feet of the trunk would injure the tree; relocating the fence footing is the reasonable remedy. Oakland Municipal Code 12.36 protects this tree; no removal permit would issue on these facts."

2. Assignment and scope

Who the client is, the date of the site visit, what was and was not inspected, which properties were entered and with whose permission, and what documents were provided (letters, prior photographs, title report, survey).

3. Site and tree description

Each tree numbered and located on an aerial image. Species, trunk diameter at 54 inches, height and spread estimated, age class, and the trunk's position relative to the fence or apparent line in inches. Condition: crown, trunk, root collar, visible defects, pests or disease, prior pruning.

4. Ownership frame

Whether the trunk stands wholly on one parcel (Civil Code 833) or on the line (834), with measurements and photographs. A statement that the apparent line was taken from the fence, survey monuments or the client's survey, and that a licensed land surveyor determines the actual line.

5. Encroachment and damage attribution

Which roots and limbs cross, where, with photographs of excavations where roots were traced. Whether the damage described is plausibly caused by them: fence lean, slab lift, pipe intrusion, roof contact. Other candidate causes considered and why they were or were not adopted. Cause only; repair cost is a contractor's number.

6. Risk

Whether the tree presents an elevated likelihood of whole or partial failure, what the target is, and what would reduce the risk. Plain professional language and photographs; no checklist scores.

7. Self-help limits

What the client may trim or cut at the line under California law, and specifically which cuts would injure the tree and expose the client to liability under Booska v. Patel. Measured from this tree, not from a rule of thumb.

8. Applicable law and local ordinance

The Civil Code sections that frame the dispute (833, 834, 841, 3346, 3479) and the city's protected-tree, heritage or view ordinance, each cited to the code section with a link. A sentence on what each means for these facts. Not legal advice; the report says so.

9. Recommendations and hand-offs

Numbered actions in order, each assigned: client, tree owner, contractor, surveyor, engineer, attorney, or city. What a reasonable resolution looks like.

10. Limitations and certification

Visual assessment from the locations stated; conditions change; no property-line, structural, repair-cost or legal opinion; no interest in any tree work. Signed, dated, credential numbers, report number.

Appendix

Numbered photographs with captions and locations; aerial image with tree numbers; the client's documents referenced.

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