A Miami homeowner heads to court all because a tree along his property line disappeared. He says he never gave permission to cut it down, but someone did. 7’s Heather Walker investigates.
The trees surrounding this duplex in Little Haiti were a huge selling point for Stefan Pizzi and his girlfriend. Especially a 50 foot tall oak tree on the property line.
Stefan Pizzi: “It stood in contrast to the orange fence that’s there. The brown bark really popped and it made a really cool feature of the home.”
They bought the duplex in 2023. The tree disappeared last year.
Stefan Pizzi: “Yeah, so we get a call from our front door tenant. She calls us in panic. She’s saying, ‘They’ve cut down the oak tree.'”
A crew was clearing the land next door. Multiple trees on the lot had to be taken down including the oak tree on Stefan’s property line.
He called the property owner, JF Property Holdings, LLC. He was told they were given permission to cut down the tree.
Stefan Pizzi: “He told me that he had a permit to remove those trees and specifically the oak tree. The City of Miami was given a signed letter of consent. And it supposedly bared our signatures, me and my girlfriend, the co-owner of the property’s signatures.”
Stefan got a copy of the letter from the city. It was submitted by the owner of the property being developed. It says:
“Stefan Parris Pizzi and Adriana Victoria Ocampo…have been informed that a tree that shares property boundary… is scheduled for removal as a result of construction of a new single-family home.”
Stefan says he and his girlfriend didn’t write that letter and the signatures are from someone else.
Stefan Pizzi: “So they were completely different signatures versus the names on there. That’s not our signatures! Again, I felt upset.”
Stefan filed a lawsuit against the owner of the property next door, JF Property Holdings, LLC and three others involved in the construction work and tree removal.
He originally sued for trespassing, conversion, fraud and forgery.
The person who notarized the letter was sued for negligent notarization.
Back in July, a judge permanently dismissed the fraud and forgery count.
The attorneys for the defendants tell 7News: “The claims regarding any irregular signatures directed at my clients have been dismissed. This case is a classic Miami money grab, nothing more.”
Stefan Pizzi: “I do want the city to take this very seriously, because this is not just, ‘We cut down someone’s tree.’ And it has to come to a stop.”
A representative with the city tells 7News:
“The department proceeded with the permitting process under the assumption that all parties were acting in good faith. To the extent that there are allegations that this was a fraudulent submittal, we will track the developments of any investigation and take appropriate action, to be determined, on our part.”
Stefan and his girlfriend ground down half of the tree stump left on their property and closed the gap in the fence.
They then planted some bamboo to help block the view of the new house next door, just like the old oak tree could have done.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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