When Lisa and Doug Hubert moved into their Grandin Village home six years ago, one of the first things they noticed was the trees.

Two large American basswoods that framed the house had buckled the sidewalks. Over the years, the trees would drop dead limbs and a sticky sap onto the driveway.

Now, Roanoke City is taking the Huberts to court for cutting down the city-owned trees in the curb strip outside their house. Based on the size of the two trees, the city is seeking $68,600 from the Huberts and Brown Hound Tree Services, which cut the trees down in January 2024.

“Under Virginia law, the unauthorized cutting and removal of trees from another’s property is actionable, and the City is entitled to recover damages for the loss of the trees," the city says in its suit.

It’s a rare case for the city to bring to court. City officials have said it’s the only instance they’re aware of in which someone intentionally cut down city-owned trees after the city denied their request (an assertion that the Huberts contest.) In recent years, Roanoke has tried to protect and expand the city’s tree canopy, which a recent study shows is lagging behind the city’s goal.

Trees provide a range of benefits — from capturing planet-warming carbon emissions to improving water quality and bestowing shade that counteracts an urban heat island effect. But the city only has control over a fraction of the trees that make up Roanoke’s tree canopy, often city-owned street trees managed by the urban forestry division.

The city maintains that officials told the Huberts four times — three of which happened in June 2023 — that the trees could not be removed. The lawsuit says the city evaluated each request and denied them.

That’s not exactly how the Huberts recalled what happened.

They acknowledge they had contacted the city numerous times over the years about requests to "abate a dangerous nuisance (e.g. – remove two diseased and rotting trees at risk of falling and causing personal and physical damages),” court records say.

The Huberts recalled a conversation in June 2023 with an urban forestry employee who said the city would not remove the trees. “Defendant Lisa Hubert then stated, ‘If I won the lottery, could I remove the trees?’ to which the employee responded, ‘yes, but the City would not be financially responsible,’” court records say.

Over the years, the Huberts said they paid to replace seven sections of city sidewalk that the trees’ roots had upended, as well as a new driveway.

“We would not have had the trees removed if Roanoke City Urban Forestry had not told us we could pay to have them removed,” Lisa Hubert, a sergeant with Virginia State Police, wrote in an email to a city attorney back in June, according to a copy shared by her husband, who works as a special agent for state police. “Between the sidewalk and tree removal, we have spent over $10,000. Plus, it cost over $20,000 on our driveway.”

Doug Hubert said the couple has since planted a new tree in the curb strip.

Brown Hound on Tuesday filed court records saying the company “acted under reliance upon and in good faith with the owners of the property who requested the trees be removed.”

Brown Hound asserted the city’s case should have been brought in a lower court and demanded “strict proof of the factors such as the health, decay, age, size or other characteristics of the trees” that would explain monetary damages.

Last June, the city filed a $50,000 civil claim against the Huberts and Brown Hound in Roanoke City General District Court but had the case dropped a few months later.

The latest lawsuit says Roanoke City Circuit Court is the proper venue because “the monetary damages the City seeks exceeds the jurisdictional limit of the General District Court.”

No court date has been set yet.

“The City is actively pursuing legal action regarding the unauthorized removal of City-owned trees,” Carol Corbin, a city spokeswoman, said in an email Tuesday. “As stewards of public resources, the City is committed to holding those responsible accountable, particularly professional entities that are expected to adhere to industry standards and legal requirements. This matter remains under litigation, and the City will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and preserve public property.”

Carrie Poff, CEO and owner of Brown Hound, referred questions to her attorney, John Weber.

Weber said the value of the trees is in dispute, noting that there was hollowing out inside the trunks and that upper branches were brittle.

“We believe [the damages] to be wildly excessive,” Weber said. “I think we have houses on Dale Avenue worth less than the assessments of those two trees.”