Vancouver mansion owners sue neighbours over hedge removal

When Israel and Elaine Shafran bought their waterfront mansion in Vancouver’s upscale Point Grey neighbourhood in 2023, they said that the property’s 150 mature cedar trees were a big selling point.

The 12-foot-tall trees provided them with privacy from the surrounding properties, they say, and created a “privacy hedge” that provided natural beauty for the 8,382-square-foot home.

But two years later, the Shafrans claim their neighbours cut down part of the hedges without permission — filing a lawsuit that seeks damages for loss of property value and loss of privacy, among other things.

“The [privacy hedge] cannot be reasonably replaced with replacement trees of the previous height, maturity and appearance,” a notice of civil claim reads.

The Shafrans say their neighbours, Irene Kam Sheung Lo and Albert Jinghan Cheng, hired a company to remove parts of the hedge as part of improvements to their property on June 15, 2025.

They claim that, in total, 11 feet of the privacy hedge was removed that day, and the company’s employees committed an act of trespass in doing so.

None of the Shafrans’ claims have been proven in court. Their neighbours have not yet filed a response.

$24 million sale

B.C. Assessment shows the Shafrans’ property, in the so-called “Golden Mile” on Point Grey Road, changed hands that year for $24 million. It was assessed at $20.46 million this year.

“Prior to purchasing … [the Shafrans] viewed several other properties on Point Grey Road, but rejected them because they did not offer the same privacy, security and aesthetic as the [privacy hedges],” reads the notice of civil claim.

According to the lawsuit, after portions of the trees were cut in June 2025, the Shafrans’ property is now visible from other nearby properties.

“The Plaintiffs have and continue to incur damages in the loss of privacy and quiet enjoyment of the Plaintiffs’ Property and loss of amenity,” reads the notice of civil claim.

The lawsuit claims the alleged trespassing enhanced Lo and Cheng’s property, improved its view and its property value.

“The Defendants knew or ought to have known [they] did not have the Plaintiffs’ consent to interfere with the [privacy hedge],” it says. 

‘Real sense of violation’

Lawyer John Whyte, with the North Vancouver firm Lakes, Whyte LLP, said cases involving neighbours suing each other over unauthorized hedge trimming are very common.

Whyte, who is not involved in the Point Grey case, represented a plaintiff whom a judge recently awarded over $61,000 in damages after her neighbour cut a tree without permission.

Whyte said the judge will have to hear the defendants’ version of events to see if there was some form of consent to cut the trees in question.

“Another possibility is that there’s something on the title to the plaintiff’s property which permits an owner next door, or nearby, to cut trees to a certain level,” he said.

Whyte said he would prefer to see neighbours speak to each other over trees and hedges, rather than drag each other to court.

“There’s a real sense of violation that I find … that really drives litigation. There’s a lot of this litigation,” he said.

“I mean, this should not occur at all. And it’s a shame that it does.”