“Mr. Carter, the fence was built entirely by the plaintiff, on his property, at his expense. You had no legal right to remove it.”
“Your honor, it was blocking our view—”
“That’s not a legal justification for destruction of property.”
The judge ruled in my favor. Awarded me $6,800 for materials and labor to rebuild.
Ethan had thirty days to pay.
He didn’t pay.
Day thirty-one, I filed for a collections order.
Day forty-five, the sheriff placed a lien on Ethan’s property.
Day sixty, Ethan’s lawyer contacted me with a settlement offer: $5,000 cash to release the lien.
I countered: $6,800 plus an additional $2,000 for court costs and my time. And a written agreement that he’d never touch my property again.
He agreed.
With the money, I didn’t rebuild the wooden fence.
I built something better.
I hired a contractor. A professional. Someone who specialized in permanent boundary structures.
We installed a steel fence. Six feet high. Powder-coated black. Set in reinforced concrete footings every six feet.
Not decorative. Industrial. The kind of fence you see around commercial properties.
It cost $12,000. More than Ethan paid me. But I didn’t care.
I wanted Ethan to look at that fence every single day and know he’d caused it.
