But in 2007, the commonwealth of Virginia adopted what is the modern rule. The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed its long-standing position by holding that where a neighbor's tree causes actual harm or poses an imminent danger of actual harm to an adjoining property, the tree owner "may be held responsible" for this harm.
Before this, Virginia followed what is commonly referred to as the Massachusetts rule, namely that a property owner's right to protect his or her property from the encroaching roots and boughs of a neighbor's tree is limited to the self-help described above.
