Mercer Island City Council candidate Julie Hsieh said she doesn’t know why she and Hsieh Investments have been named in a lawsuit regarding illegal tree felling in Issaquah.

They are two of nine defendants listed in a complaint in which King County is suing homeowners after 142 trees were cut down on Issaquah public land on or about March 22, according to King County Superior Court documents.

King County is pursuing an amount of almost $7 million in damages with the lawsuit, which was filed on June 6.

“As a result of the unauthorized removal and damage of the trees, at least one of the neighbor defendants has substantially improved their view of West Tiger Mountain,” court documents read.

Hsieh said she and her family have nothing to do with the lawsuit and is surprised about the whole situation. She added that nobody contacted them before it was filed.

“There’s no evidence that we were involved with it,” Hsieh said. The Islander noted that she helped her parents buy their Issaquah retirement home — which sits partially adjacent to the home where the trees were cut down — as a signer on their purchase and sales contract because they were out of town.

The Hsiehs have never met their neighbors and don’t know who felled the trees just eight days after they closed on the property, she said.

“We’re not involved with that at all. We’re very upset that those trees have been cut down because what used to be a forest in their backyard, now there’s this gaping hole on the left side of their yard,” Julie Hsieh said. “What you see are damaged trees and the sky. There’s no view that they benefit from this. It looks terrible and they’re very upset. This impacted adversely this beautiful property with the trees.”

Hsieh said her lawyer will be speaking with the King County prosecutor about why she and her parents’ company are listed on the lawsuit, which notes that the felling involved some of the defendants or a hired company.

“I hope they find the people responsible. And I hope that trees can be planted again there in this park because it’s very distressing that the trees were cut down and that somehow my name is part of this,” Hsieh said.

Court documents state that one dangerous situation arose while the trees were being felled: “During the cutting of the trees, at least one negligently felled tree flew down the steep slope of plaintiff’s property at a high rate of speed and nearly crossed 272nd Avenue Southeast, posing a risk of serious injury or death to innocent bystanding pedestrians and vehicles.” A KING 5 report also stated that one of the defendants believes the work was legal and done for his family’s safety.

Along with being a Mercer Island City Council candidate, Hsieh said she’s a doer, helper and supporter in the community and devotes her time to many different organizations, such as the Mercer Island School District and schools foundation, Rotary Club of Mercer Island and more.

“I appreciate the people who are supporting me and helping me through this very difficult time. This just happened two days ago, but it feels like two years to me,” she said. “I was talking about the community and that’s what I’m about. This is just a hiccup along the way and I just need to work through it and get this taken care of.”

The Reporter will update this story when more information becomes available.

King County lawsuit documents by andy.hobbs on Scribd

Here are photos of the Hsiehs’ Issaquah property taken on June 26. On the left is the south border of their yard; at right is the east border of the yard that has damaged trees. Courtesy photos