u/Cheese_head7702

Our neighbor cut down 4 of our mature pine trees without permission a few months ago. We had a survey done as requested by a lawyer and indeed shows they are all 4 on our property. We had talked to a lawyer and he said to also get the damage estimated by an arborist before he takes the case on. When I first talked to the arborist he said it would be 150 an hour. Silly me thinking it would be a quick thing and sounds like it’s not so likely will cost quite a bit. The lawyer said these almost never go to court because usually these cases settle. I did read that you could get a basic report for cheaper but not sure if that is enough? What does an arborist estimating damages entail exactly that would make it cost so much?