Advice Needed: Who Is Responsible For My Neighbor's Fallen Tree?

[arwalden]

The tree was about 75 feet tall and was about 25 feet inside my neighbor's property. That means about 50 feet of the tree came crashing over the fence and now rests in our yard.

Who is responsible for removing the tree and the VERY minor damage caused to the existing fence? It didn't cause much damage to speak of because the old fence was in such disrepair that a child could have knocked it down (and it needs to be replaced anyway.) The chain link is still solid, it's just the rusted fence post that was knocked over.

It seems obvious (now that the tree is down) that it was dying... but while it was upright, there didn't appear to be any immanent danger. So I'm guessing that the previous condition of the tree is probably something that wasn't immediately obvious to the owner. (Also, it's in a corner of his lot that is pretty heavily wooded and not an area that he would normally see on a daily basis.)

Are there any legal-eagle-types, or insurance-expert-types who know the answer? Have any of you experienced something similar? How did it work out for you?

-- Allen

[radwriter0555]

1. Your neighbor and / or his insurance company. Call YOUR homeowner's

insurance company and advise them as well. Could be that they handle it all for you.

Mebbe first just knock on his door and have him come take a look see. He is ultimately, the responsible party. Hopefully he'll be a good neighbor and have the work crews just come on in and get it all cleaned up and repaired.

If not, then pursue the homeowner's insurance. Ask him slyly if he has it while you're chatting.

[slackmaster]

2. I'm very, very glad nobody was hurt and that damage is minor

IANAL and therefore have nothing legal to say other than break out the chainsaws and keep the insurance companies out of it if you can. Unless this is going to cause somebody a significant monetary loss you'll be better off in the long run if nobody files a claim.

It sounds like a good opportunity for you to collaborate with your neighbor and accumulate a good supply of firewood.

[ender]

17. home insurance premiums do *not* go up based on claims.

[midnight armadillo]

20. Yes, but....

...after a claim or two the homeowner is abruptly dropped from the insurance, and when they shop for new insurance they're labeled 'high-risk' and premiums go through the roof.

[GOPisEvil]

3. His tree? His responsibility.

Although...if the fence needed to be repaired anyway, you might offer to split that expense with him (if you share the fence). But, that's if you are feeling charitable.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer by trade; I'm just dispensing advice based on my layman's knowledge of the law. (Translation: You never heard of me if my advice blows up in your face.)

[amazona]

11. nope, that is incorrect tree law, sorry

see my original message

Tree law is not like most law.

[trof]

4. I believe you're responsible for your side.

I think you have to clean it up from your side of the fence.
The fence is on the property line?
If so, probably share expense to repair, UNLESS only one of you put it up or paid to put it up.

[trof]

8. More info.

Previous neighbor and I put up a chain link fence on the property line. It was partially a spite fence (his wife). I didn't want chain link, but he bought the materials. I helped him put it up. At that point we were trying to salvage a relationship that turned out to be unsalvageable. Another story.

A couple of years ago a new couple moved in, very nice. She hated the chain link too, and very kindly asked me if I minded if SHE replaced it. No problem.

The new fence is aluminum that looks like wrought iron. Very nice. We ALL understand that it is HER fence. If it is damaged, she pays to have it fixed.

[johnnie]

5. That happened to my brother.

It was his neighbors tree that fell on his property and he had to pay his own expenses. Maybe things are different now, but I believe it wouldnt be considered their fault.

[amazona]

13. you are correct...humans can't control trees NT

.

[ET Awful]

6. Your neighbor is responsible. . . .

The tree was on his property, it was his duty to insure that it was healthy and would not fall, or to have it removed before it did.

He failed to do so, thus he was negligent.

Judgement for plaintiff, see the bailiff on your way out.

[amazona]

9. completely incorrect

I would have believed the same until it happened to me, but this is not the case. See my previous post. Then call an insurance agent and ask him about tree law. That's just the way it is.

[amazona]

7. yes, I just had a much more serious tree fall

A tree on public property fell onto my house and caused five figures worth of damage. By law, if the tree is not visibly rotten before it fell, then no one owns the tree. Your insurance company is responsible for removing the part of the tree on your property, and your neighbor's insurance company is responsible for removing the part of the tree on his property. My neighbor did not have insurance -- his house is a rental -- and he had to find his own way of making the repairs to his yard, gate, and property.

This tree was a huge, ancient oak tree. A real mess. That's how it took out my entire back yard, most of the back of my house, and even did some damage to the neighbors -- it was pretty hard on the fence and patio too!

But in answer to your question, you cannot sue your neighbor or collect from his insurance if the tree was not visibly rotten.

My tree was sound -- the fall was caused by a tropical storm force winds and perhaps a localized tornado. Therefore my insurance had to pay. They weren't even interested in finding out who actually owned the public property (the parish or the electric company) where the tree stood -- figured it would be a waste of time. Get your insurance adjuster out as soon as possible. It is unlikely you will collect anything from your neighbor's insurance.

If you have an old rotten fence -- and my fence was VERY old -- the insurance company will give you very little for the fence based on depreciation. However, if you let them REPAIR the fence, they will pay the full cost of the repair. So that's what our insurance company did, and now we are replacing the other fence boards that were damaged by time rather than the tree fall.

Although it seems unfair that you were hit by your neighbor's tree and yet can't collect from his insurance, If you think about it, it has to be this way. Otherwise, no one would be able to have trees on their property because of the litigation risk.

[trof]

12. I vote for 4, 5, & 7.

It may not SEEM right, but that's the way it is.
In the same vein, if branches from neighbor's tree are on your side of the line, you have the right to trim them.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

28. This is correct unless the neighbor knew or had prior warning and failed

to act.

[Terwilliger]

10. did you hear it?

did it really happen? ;-)

If the tree came from his property, I would think that he is responsible for fence damage. I'm not sure though.

[amazona]

16. I heard mine fall

It came down with an awful thunderclap, and all the power went off to the house instantly. It was at night so it was pitch dark. My partner felt something push him across the floor. We got a flashlight, and we could see the limbs of this huge old oak tree poking into our house.

If the tree had been on OUR property, we would have been dead, as the house would have been obliterated with us inside it. As it was, we survived to learn that "no one owns trees," which is apparently the pat phrase they use in explaining the insurance proceedings to laymen.

He can't collect from the neighbor's insurance unless the tree was clearly rotten before it fell -- which he has already acknowledged not to be the case.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

14. Your neighbor is just like

he is if his dog comes into your yard or his kid drives the Crown Vic through the fence into your pool. It's his tree/dog/son/Crown Vic

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[regularguy]

15. Happened to me last summer.

Neighbor's insurance paid for any damage of stuff, we split the cost of tree removal.

[cally]

18. Our tree ended up in the neighbor's yard

last winter. We had it removed but found out from our insurance that we were not financially responsible for it. Depending on your state law, you probably need to pay for removal from your own property.

[RobinA]

19. I Believe

homeowner's won't cover it unless the tree falls on something and damages it. They won't cover any old tree that just topples and does no structural damage. I'd go over and see what my neighbor had in mind. I basically don't buy into the blame game, his tree/his negligence thing. Live and let live, says I. It would be nice if he had the whole thing cut up and hauled away, but if he isn't so-inclined I'd cut up (or have cut up) my part and stacked for firewood. The fence is his problem, I don't like fences anyway.

[Robb]

21. Looking at it from all sides

...I'm pretty sure we can lay the blame at the feet of Magic Rat. :shrug:

[HEyHEY]

22. your nieghbour should pay for all of it

Try to pin someone under the tree too! YOu could really clean up! ;-)

[Westegg]

23. Jehovah Himself...

...is responsible. But try collecting from that cat. He's never there when you call. Always "in a meeting."

[Nay]

24. Former insurance adjuster here.

Your neighbor is responsible. He may be covered by his homeowner's insurance, or he may not. In either case, he is responsible for removing the tree from your property.

[silverlib]

25. in my state

unless the tree was dead or deemed sick and likely the fall, this is an "act of God" and each is responsible for their own damage and insurance claims.

if the tree was dead or dying, the person whose property the tree is rooted is responsible.

[happyslug]

26. Amazona is WRONG

But it sound like it was true in his case.

To determine liability we first have to find out who planted the tree. If the tree was self-planted and than left on its own, the owner of the property has no duty in regards to the tree and when it fell, the damages fell as there fall i.e. you responsible for the damage to your property, he is responsible for the damages on his property. This type of incident comes under the legal concept “Act of God” i.e. no one is liable for no one had a duty to anyone in regards to the tree.

Now In the case of Amazaona, it sound like the tree may have been planted by his local municipality on public property. Given it was on land owned by his local Government, Sovereign Immunity kicks in i.e. “The King can do no wrong” (But his agents can). Thus if the tree was rotten and that was reported to the local government and the Government official responsible did nothing, than he can be sued for failing to correct the problem caused by a tree planted by local government (Please note if the tree was a “wild tree” it is still an “Act of God” and the local government is NOT responsible for the tree, local liability only kicks in if the local government PLANTED the Tree). Please note, in this type of case the issue is how negligent was the agent, if grossly negligent he is liable (and at the point the local government generally pays up to protect its agents). If on the other hand the action of the agent was within normal range of actions of such agents, he is NOT liable and the local Government will not pay.

Now, we come to what I believe are the facts in your case, your neighbor (or one of his predecessor’s in interest i.e. one of the prior owners of the property) planted the tree. This the tree is NOT “natural”, being something planted it changed the natural lay of his land. Once an owner of a piece of property changes his property, and that changes harms property of another, the person who made the change is liable for the loss of the other’s property.

Note, this requires some actions of the property owner of the tree. When I was in law school we had to read the English Case involving a Village that sat underneath a large bounder on a neighbor’s land. The Village sued the owner the property to remove the boulder so it was about to fall onto the Village. The English Court ruled that since the neighbor had done NOTHING to the boulder, he was under no obligations to remove the boulder nor if it fell was he liable for it falling. The boulder was part of the natural landscape and if it fell, it was an “Act of God” NOT do to the actions of the neighbor.

Now, had the neighbor done anything to disturb that boulder and it crashed, than he would have been liable, but he had done NOTHING, it had just become unstable do to erosion. The same with this tree, is it was “wild” and fell, your neighbor is NOT liable to you for the harm done. He is only liable if he had planted it or otherwise changed its character for his own benefit.

One last comment, I like to solve problems if I can, I recommend you cut the tree down, repair the Fence (Splitting the costs with your neighbor) and get on with your life. The cost to litigate this will exceed anything you will receive. Remember, even if a court will hold your neighbor liable, he is only liable to the extent of the damage he did. You stated the post (which were rusted) broke but the Fence itself was still in good shape. Post are cheap, concrete to install them in with is cheap, you can get that fence up for about 2-300 dollars at most, you will pay that much in court costs to litigate this mess, such split the cost to repair the fence and get on with your life.

[arwalden]

27. Thank You ALL For The Replies And Advice!!!!

It was a "wild" tree in a wooded area that spans over our adjoining property. It looks as though we're just going to each take care of our half.

-- Allen

Thank goodness my chainsaw is sharp.