The Court refused compensation under Part 2 of the Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (NSW) where the respondent tree owner, upon being notified of damage, promptly engaged an arborist, had overhanging branches pruned, and applied for council consent to remove the trees. Applying the framework from Robson v Leischke regarding contributing causes under s 12(h), the Court held that on the facts the tree owner had taken all reasonable steps to address the nuisance once aware of it and was therefore not liable for damage from subsequent branch failures, notwithstanding delays in the consent process attributable to a third-party arborist. The Court also declined compensation for the initial damage event on the basis that the tree owner had no prior knowledge of the risk posed by the trees.
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