Ceeney v Rutter

[2025] NSWLEC 52

Land and Environment Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Ceeney v Rutter [2025] NSWLEC 52

Hearing dates:

26 May 2025

Date of orders:

26 May 2025

Decision date:

26 May 2025

Jurisdiction:

Class 2

Before:

Beasley J

Decision:

The following orders are made by consent:

(1) Within 30 days of the date of these orders, the Respondents are to remove, or engage and pay for a suitably experienced contractor to remove, all oleander tree roots remaining on the Applicant’s property the subject of the judgment of Acting Commissioner Galwey dated 12 February 2025.

(2) No order as to costs.

(3) The Applicant is to allow any access required to his property on reasonable notice and at a reasonable time of day so that the works in Order 1 be completed.

Catchwords:

NOTICE OF MOTION — Costs — Tree dispute — Orders made by consent — No orders as to costs

Legislation Cited:

Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (NSW), Pts 2, 2A

Cases Cited:

Birketu v Castagnet (2022) NSWSC 1435

Cachia v Hanes & Anor (1994) 179 CLR 403; [1994] HCA 14

Ceeney v Rutter [2025] NSWLEC 1175

Category:

Costs

Parties:

Ross Douglas Ceeney (Applicant)
Gary Alan Rutter (First Respondent)
Linda Joyce Rutter (Second Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
R Ceeney (Self-represented) (Applicant)
G Rutter (Self-represented) (First Respondent)

File Number(s):

2024/00395980

Publication restriction:

Nil

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT

1. Before the Court today is a Notice of Motion filed on 13 March 2025, through which the Applicant Mr Ceeney seeks “costs” and “compensation for … damages” arising out of a tree dispute matter that was determined by the judgment of Acting Commissioner Galwey on 12 February 2025: Ceeney v Rutter [2025] NSWLEC 1175.

2. The motion was supported by an affidavit of the Applicant, Ross Douglas Ceeney, dated 11 February 2025, and a further affidavit of the Applicant dated 6 May 2025. Both those affidavits were read without objection. The First Respondent Mr Rutter read two affidavits both dated 12 May 2025. Mr Rutter had also supplied the Court with written submissions dated 13 May 2025, and Mr Ceeney had filed his own written submissions in response to the Respondent’s submissions dated 19 May 2025.

3. The parties are self-represented litigants. They represented themselves at the hearing before Acting Commissioner Galwey, which was brought under the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (NSW) (Trees Act). The Applicant claimed that certain trees on the Respondents’ land posed a risk of damage to his land, and had caused actual damage.

4. In his judgment of 12 February 2025, the Acting Commissioner made the following orders:

1. The application is upheld to the extent of the following orders.

2. Within 30 days of the date of these orders, the Respondents are to remove, or engage and pay for a suitably experienced contractor to remove, all oleander trees along their rear boundary.

3. Within 30 days of the date of these orders, and then annually in March thereafter, the respondents, or a suitably experienced contractor they engage at their…