Monte Sereno neighbor feud is not getting better

By Nathan R. Huff

Things are apparently going to get worse before they get better on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, where neighbors continue fighting over gas lines, trees, fences and, now, ingress and egress rights.

The dispute involves Darla Hurt-Weese and Joseph Padgett; their neighbors to the rear, the Hunters; and their neighbors to one side, the Bruns.

The dispute between Hurt-Weese and Jim Hunter began when Hurt-Weese cut the gas lines on her property which serve her home. The line also serves the Hunters' home and the middle house, a rental owned by Hunter. Things have now escalated with Hurt-Weese relocating the driveway used to access the back two homes.

Hurt-Weese said that Hunter, who sold the front lot to her in 1992, was told numerous times that he would have to replace or pressure-test his old gas lines when Hurt-Weese installed her own. Additionally, Hurt-Weese said, Hunter demanded that she pay for the gas lines running across his property, and be held liable for anything that occurred during construction.

Lawyers for Hunter, who failed to return repeated phone calls for this story, have previously stated that the replacement issue had been "forced on Mr. Hunter." However, Hunter has recently filed a permit application with the city of Monte Sereno to replace the lines, though his lawyer had indicated in the past that Hunter would attempt to force Hurt-Weese to pay for the new gas lines.

As of now, the gas is on at Padgett and Hurt-Weese's home, but not at the Hunters' or the renter's homes. The renter has long since moved out.

To complicate matters, Padgett and Hurt-Weese have moved the driveway leading to the two rear homes closer to another neighbor's fence. Padgett said this is a result of their discovery that the easement written by Hunter in 1979 granting ingress, egress and utility-usage rights covers only the 15 feet distance from the neighboring fence.

Padgett said the Hunters can still get in to their properties, but Jim Hunter claims the driveway is too narrow because five of the 15 feet are taken up by a line of telephone poles put in along the fence when the driveway was more centered on the lot. Padgett claims Hunter was completely aware of the location of his easement.

Padgett claims "[Hunter] has intentionally misled his attorney, the police and PG&E."

Hurt-Weese and Padgett drew the ire of the Bruns when they cut down a tree--without a city permit--which provided privacy and shade. Hurt-Weese said it was a safety hazard. The Bruns were also upset when Hurt-Weese tore down the Brun's 200-foot-long fence, which Hurt-Weese said was 10 inches onto her property. On the other side, Padgett claims the Bruns destroyed property markers, and has called the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police out on several occasions.

Diane Brun said negotiations regarding the fence remain at a standstill. Hurt-Weese claims the fence was removed only after Brun had made a "hostile claim" on her property by stating in a letter that the fence was protected by a prescriptive easement.

"They're not being cooperative at all," Brun said. "It's been horrible for the Hunters, too."

In the last month, Hurt-Weese and Padgett have sent letters to the city of Monte Sereno, one challenging the city's assertion that Hurt-Weese did not have the right to take out the tree without a permit, and the other claiming that Hunter has an illegal dwelling on his property and should be cited for it.

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