Anyone who’s ever lived in the ’burbs knows what a thorny topic landscaping can be, and for the past couple years, Chris Pine has apparently been learning that first-hand.
According to TMZ, our best Chris planted some ficus trees along the border of his Hollywood Hills property that have since sprouted into a two-year legal battle with his neighbor—music attorney Helen Yu. According to court documents, TMZ reports, Yu claims that the roots from Pine’s trees are encroaching on her property, including the foundation of her home, and that they’ve damaged her yard.
Meanwhile, Pine reportedly claims that Yu’s fence actually intrudes on his side of the property line. (At the time of writing, his camp has not yet responded to the tabloid’s request for comment.) Where’s a homeowner’s association when you need it?
Yu filed her initial complaint back in 2022, TMZ reports, and the two entered mediation to resolve things privately. Since then, however, the problem has apparently branched out into a bigger issue.
Now, Yu has reportedly upped the amount she’s seeking in compensation for the alleged physical damages to her property from $267,000 to more than $346,000—plus another $225,000 for the emotional distress she says she’s endured. For those doing the math, that would be more than half a million in total damages—a real beech, considering all of this germinated from some decorative trees.
As someone who rents an apartment the size of a kids’ shoebox, I cannot say that I personally relate to these issues, but I’ve heard of plenty such scuffles from my property-owning friends. It’s a classic case of man vs. nature, vs. man: We plant our gorgeous greenery hoping it will blossom into something beautiful (and perhaps offer us a little more privacy) and then its roots (allegedly) run amok, pitting neighbor against neighbor.
Hopefully, these two find a way to make like a Robert Frost poem and mend fences soon. Knock on wood.
