has anybody experienced a neighbor clear cutting his property and this has made an erosion problem on your property? My neighbor did this and now when it rains it washes my land away. I put up a retaining wall and hauled in loads of dirt to fix my property but neighbor refuses to fix his side. We are taking him to court to try to recover some of the cost for the dirt and have the trees cut down that the water has caused the roots to be exposed and he is taking us to court about the retaining wall causing ponding on his side (which it does not). I was just wondering if anybody else has experienced this same type of problem.If you have… please let me know. I would love some feedback.
Reported for forum change.
Moved from ATMB to IMHO.
samclem, moderator.
Read the bill of assurance for the property.
I bought a house lot in 1989. One of the items specifically mentioned alterations to the land that would effect drainage. That was a big concern because it was a hillside lot. It needed a lot of work to prepare a place for a house foundation.
There were other restrictions. Any building plans had to be reviewed by the Neighborhood Association. I wanted a carport and that required a storage closet with a minimum square footage. The house itself had a minimum square footage. IIRC it was 2200 sq ft.
I ended up not building and sold the lot.
The house would have been too expensive for me to build. I couldn’t get a mortgage for that much money.
Happened to my sister…sort of. The uphill neighbor cleared his entire hillside of chaparral and sagebrush, and the next rain brought down a lot of sand, clogging all the culverts, and a lot of rushing water, which carved nasty erosion gullies on my sis’s land.
Not exactly what you’re facing, but somewhat similar.
No possibility of restitution in her case. She spent the last two years placing a LOT of sandbags.
You don’t say where you are or what the type of property is. The general property law concept is (I believe) lateral and subjacent support. As a general matter, you are not allowed to alter your property in a manner that significantly changes the water situation on neighboring property.
The only real instance I experienced was in a residential suburb. There was a large wooded double lot, with a small old house on it. A developer bought it, clear cut the heavy vegetation (including mature trees) and erected a huge mansion with extensive paved driveways/patios/etc. Guess what? All of the houses that abutted the rear of that property and were slightly lower began experiencing water problems in heavy rains/thaws! Who’dathunkit? This particular community didn’t do a damn thing to prevent the clear cutting or to require any meaningful changes/compensation for the affected long-time residents.
One thought - culverts can redirect a ton of water, and trees/plants can soak up a ton. Rather than a wall and depending on your property, it might be easier/cheaper/more effective to excavate a ditch paralleling your shared property line, redirecting the water in a manner that it has less impact on either of your properties. Burying stone under the culvert, lining the culvert with stone, and heavily planting heavy water using plants can further help. And - if done well, can be quite attractive.
Bottomline, in such situations I would not be shocked if the community were not terribly responsive to your understandable concerns. I’m a lawyer (tho not your lawyer.) Far too many folk engage in lawsuits, thinking they will be “made whole.” Lawsuits are costly, and quite often leave the litigants dissatisfied. Rather than paying costs associated with a lawsuit, I suggest you might be better served by spending that towards a more effective solution.
I’m with Dinsdale. A french drain placed appropriately (talk with a contractor/excavator and get his recommendation) and maybe some weeping willows would be my first step.
Yes, it depends a lot on where you live. Where I live, you must submit a drainage plans as part of the package when you are applying for a building permit, partly to prevent what happened to the OP. Check with your municipality and make sure they had a permit to do what they did.
Plus - if placed properly, the willows would have the added benefit of overhanging the neighbor’s property, dropping crap for him to clean up and potentially interfering with his plumbing/septic! (See, I’m ALL about neighborliness! 
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This depends significantly on jurisdiction. Western states are much more picky about this sort of thing (presumably because water is generally scarcer out there).