Here is a story that will shock you.
I hope this never happens to anyone elses family.
My parents in 2000 bought their dream home on a lake with no fences between houses.
Little did they know that their dream home would turn into a nightmare.
The first year, they had a court battle with their neighbor over a 1 foot easement issue and they won and forced the neighbor to move his boat ramp 1 foot. This started a feud. This guy started threatening my nephews and my mom verbally and allowed his dogs to attack my nephews once. He even went as far as sending e-mails to the home owners association president in my dad's name slandering the guy.
Around xmas, my parents were on a cruise on the Amazon river when they got a call about my nephew's cancer. They rushed home to be with the family. My dad being sober for 15 years started drinking again. 1 month later, his neighbor was taking photos of him cutting branches from a tree and my dad went over there and punched the guy and took his camera.
He was charged with misdameanor assault and put on probation.
He then sobered up and started to go to AA meetings again. For the next 3 months my dad would call me and ask if I knew someone that would beat this guy up for him. I said no and thought nothing more of it.
On April 11, my parents wedding anniverary, my father was arrested
for solicitation to commit murder. SHOCKED
We hired a private investigtor and a very high priced lawyer.
We found out later that my dad had been set up.
His house was bugged from underneath the house.
At his AA meeting a woman approached my dad and befriended him and heard about his problem and suggested a realtor in town could help him.
The realtor set up a meeting and my dad met them at a diner and the
alledged thug corrersed him into paying him to kill the neighbor.
My dad only wanted him beat up, but how do you say no to a hit man.
He handed him $5000 and they put handcuffs on him.
Come to find out, that the woman at the AA meeting was friends of the neighbors wife and the realtor was best friends with a county supervisor that my dad previously was very vocal in getting her ousted from office.
After a year in court, my dad plead no contest and was sentences to 5 years at folsom where he did 2 3/4 years. He just got off prarole this last month and can travel again.
He could have fought the charges and even if he won, the State of CA could still find him guilty of intent to do bodily harm and the sentence would be 6 months less.
It would have cost him another $400,000 to fight it.
He did his time and after he got out, he had to go to civil court.
He was being sued by the neighbor for 2 million dollars.
The judge awarded him $175,000 and was told by the judge to leave this man and his family alone. My dad also won a counter suit for $25,000 against neighbor. The best thing about this story is that my parents homeowners insurance paid the $175,000 and the $200,000 in lawyer fees. The neighbors insurance Farmers Ins max payout is $25,000 or my dad would have got more. My parents insurance was Safeco who pay up to $500,000 for these kind of cases.
My mom had a hell of a time selling that place because of the full disclosure laws.
The man who bought the house died 1 day after excrow closed.

Moral of this story is : fences make better neighbors.

PS
The neighbor went on to sue the homeowners association, the association ex magager who is related through marriage to my dad. Bogus
and he sued others I heard.
We found out later that this guy makes a living suing people and never worked a day in his life.
The good thing is that his wife left him and now he lives by himself and his 2 dogs.