My Uncle Got Scammed By A Yardwork Company, And They’re Trying To Force Him To Sign A Gag Order

My uncle hired a local guy who has his own company to clean up his yard. The guy was meant to rake the leaves, and trim some bushes, but not do anything with the trees — that was explicitly stated. The guy was taking his time finishing, and my uncle had to leave to pick up his kids, so he gave the guy the money and left. When he got back, the guy had removed a whole tree. Now the tree was not alive. It had come down in a recent storm, but my uncle was planning on carving it into an art piece, so he wasn’t happy to lose it. The stump, which used to be a nice height, had been cut farther down near the ground, now the perfect height for a tripping hazard.

My uncle contacted the guy, and asked him what was up, and to please bring the tree back. The company ignored my uncle at first, then after repeated contacts, got a lawyer involved and claimed first they had no knowledge of the tree, and then that they had done my uncle a favor by removing it. The lawyer had threatened to go after my uncle for defamation — even though he hasn’t even posted a review.

The lawyer just sent an offer that he has a very short window to accept. They will refund the yard work fee, without accepting fault, and remove the stump, but my uncle would have to agree to what i think might be an NDA, and they say his family members, and anyone else who knows of the situation will need to be bound by it too. I advised him against taking the deal, and told him I’d try to help him remove the stump, but he is considering it because he doesn’t want to cause a fuss, and he doesn’t want a hazard on his property where it could hurt the kids.

I suggested a lawyer, but he doesn’t know if it’s worth it. What are best next steps?

Any advise is very welcome

Location: Colorado, USA