A Hillsborough County woman says she was inside her home when a landscaping crew showed up outside and cut down two queen palm trees from her front yard without her knowledge, permission, or any agreement to have the work done.
In a Tampa Bay 28 consumer report, Susan El Khoury told the story of Denise Harris, who said the trees had been a centerpiece of her yard before they were removed in a situation she still does not understand.
Harris told El Khoury she heard loud noise outside her house in December and opened the front door to find a crew already working on her property. No one had knocked on her door, she said, and she had not hired anyone to remove the trees.
“I didn’t ask for this, and I sure didn’t deserve it,” Harris said in the report.
A Yard Changed Without Warning
According to El Khoury’s report, the crew cut down two queen palms from Harris’ front yard, leaving behind a scene that Harris described with disbelief.
“The yard looks like, well, you see what it looks like,” Harris told Tampa Bay 28. “I’m just kind of speechless.”
The trees were not small decorative plants that could be easily replaced without much thought. El Khoury reported that the queen palms were valued at about $2,000 each, which means the loss could amount to thousands of dollars before even counting the other damage Harris says was left behind.
Harris said she asked the workers why they were on her property, and they told her they had received a text message from their boss instructing them to come to that address and cut down the palm trees.
That answer only raised more questions.
The boss, according to El Khoury, was Stephen Sciuga, owner of Steve’s Landscape Consulting Service in Wimauma. Harris said Sciuga was not present when the trees were cut, but later came to meet with her.
“He said he had gotten a text message saying to come to this house and cut down the palm trees,” Harris told El Khoury.
A Mysterious Text And A Stranger Named John
Harris said this was not the first strange message connected to her trees.
A few days earlier, according to El Khoury’s report, another landscaping company had knocked on her door after receiving a text from someone identifying himself only as “John.” That text reportedly referenced Harris’ exact address and requested tree service on what it called a “new property.”
Harris told El Khoury she does not know who John is, and she does not know why he would contact any company about trees on her property.
When El Khoury tried to reach the person named John, he did not answer.
That unanswered question sits at the center of the whole dispute. If Harris did not request the job, and if Sciuga’s crew believed it was acting on instructions sent by someone else, the issue becomes not only who made the mistake, but who should pay to fix it.
It is the kind of situation homeowners rarely imagine until it happens. A tree can take years to grow into the look and shape a homeowner wants, but it can be removed in minutes by a crew that believes it is at the right property.
Damage Went Beyond The Trees
El Khoury reported that the damage at Harris’ home extended beyond the two queen palms.
Harris showed Tampa Bay 28 a cut power line and a damaged hibiscus plant that she said were destroyed during the work.
She also said Sciuga set a date to return and fix the damage, but did not follow through.
“He never came back and never showed up,” Harris told El Khoury.
El Khoury said calls to Sciuga went to voicemail. After receiving no response, she checked state records for the company and went to the address on file.
That address did not lead to a standard landscaping office. It led to a canoe rental spot and RV park on the Manatee River, where staff told Tampa Bay 28 that Sciuga had briefly lived there but had since been banned from the property.
That detail makes the story even more frustrating for Harris, because it suggests that simply finding the person responsible may not be easy. For a homeowner already dealing with missing trees and property damage, having calls go unanswered only adds to the feeling that the problem has been dropped back into her lap.
Legal Options May Be Limited
El Khoury spoke with attorney Stephen Hatchey, who focuses on real estate cases, about what a homeowner can do when a company removes trees without permission.
“At this point, if the tree company isn’t going to do the right thing and essentially replace the trees they wrongfully cut down, the next step would be to sue them,” Hatchey said.
Hatchey recommended that homeowners in a similar position document everything, including photos of the damage, before-and-after photos, and any pieces of the tree stumps that remain. He also advised getting estimates, sending a written demand letter, and then filing a claim if the matter is not resolved.
That advice is practical, but it also shows how much work may fall on the homeowner after something they never asked for in the first place. Harris did not hire a tree service, did not approve the job, and did not benefit from the work, yet she may have to collect evidence, seek estimates, and possibly go to court to recover the loss.
Harris told El Khoury she does not believe she should be responsible for the cost of restoring what was taken.
“There is no way anybody can make me pay,” Harris said. “But I would like Steve to make good on the damage that he did.”
Permit Questions And A Civil Case
El Khoury reported that cutting down trees of that size in Hillsborough County likely required a permit, but none was pulled for Harris’ property.
She also noted that landscaping work does not require a license in Florida, which may limit the kind of regulatory action available after a dispute like this.
Harris said she filed a report with the sheriff’s office, but investigators told her the matter was civil, not criminal, according to the Tampa Bay 28 report.
For many homeowners, that may be the most surprising part. The average person might assume that if a company removes trees from the wrong property, the matter would automatically be treated as a crime, but the legal path can be far less direct when intent and authorization are disputed.
This is where the case becomes more than a neighborhood mistake. It raises a broader question about accountability in home services, especially when a crew can act on a text message and the homeowner may be left to prove what went wrong afterward.
A Homeowner Still Looking For Answers
Harris said she has respect for landscaping work and is not trying to attack the industry, but she wants the damage repaired and the trees replaced.
Her frustration is understandable. A front yard is part of how a home feels, and mature landscaping often carries both financial and personal value.
The two queen palms, as Harris described them, were not just random trees. They were part of the look of her property, and they were removed without the basic courtesy of someone knocking on the door and confirming the job.
El Khoury’s report leaves several questions unresolved, including who sent the original text, why Harris’ address was used, and whether Sciuga or his company will ever reimburse her.
For now, Harris is left with a damaged yard, missing trees, and the possibility of taking legal action to recover the cost of work she says she never requested.
The case is a reminder that homeowners should document the condition of their property, keep records of any unexpected contact from contractors, and act quickly if someone begins work without permission. But it also points to something simpler: before anyone cuts down a tree, the person giving permission should actually own the property where that tree is standing.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
