MindMugging t1_j1is2l5 wrote
This happened to me some years ago though I was the neighbor. Same thing with a large branch over their house, and I was concerned about my liability. I kept wanting them to split the cost to remove it but with no luck. About a week after I scheduled a removal, there was a large storm that took it down for me right on their roof…..luckily no one was home at the time. Called my insurance to figure out what’s going to happened and all here’s what I found out.
- Your home include the airspace. This means the neighbor has the right to trim the branch that belongs to me even if I object, but responsibility also falls on the owner of the airspace.
- Exception is if the tree is DEAD or UNHEALTHY then it is the tree owner’s responsibility to remove it.
Maybe you can make a case of the condition and health of the tree. However it’ll be up to the insurance company to determine if it’s worth going after their insurance company….more likely than not, your insurance would just pay it out and increase your premium. Sorry it’s never a winning situation when it involves insurance companies.
MyThreeSense t1_j1kddq7 wrote
I am a lawyer who has dealt with large trees knocking over neighbor’a houses, taking out cars, and in one instance crushing a man as he was driving by in a bad storm of all things.
This is the correct answer. If the limb overhangs your property then you can cut it down no matter it’s condition. If the limb is diseased or dying, the person who owns the land where the base of the tree sits is aware of this (or has reason to be aware) and that limb falls because of the diseased condition - then the neighbor could be liable.
Either way. To anyone who has a limb overhanging your car or property - if you want it gone then cut it down. Best to talk to your neighbor about it first to explain this before doing it.
LawrenceSan t1_j1khriw wrote
I can't remember all the details but… years ago my relatives living in a third-floor condo (in Brookline, MA) warned a neighbor that the large tree on her property was obviously dying, leaning unnaturally… but there were no branches actually hanging over onto my relatives' side. When they asked the neighbor to have the tree cut down before it fell down, she told them to mind their own business.
Then one day the whole tree fell over and completely destroyed my relatives' wooden porch. Luckily nobody was on it at the time, nobody hurt. But removing the tree and replacing the porch was very expensive.
I don't remember how the insurance worked out, but I do remember my relatives asking a lawyer if they had recourse against the neighbor, and they were told no, a tree coming down all by itself was considered "an act of God", not negligence. Which sounded crazy to me, especially considering that my relatives were atheists. What happened to separation of church and state?
MyThreeSense t1_j1m76vu wrote
So I would say to that - if from the outside this tree appeared diseased and dying, AND, that was what caused the tree to fall (I have seen healthy portions of a tree fall during a savage windstorm, and had nothing to do with what was going on in other portions of the tree…) then when you submit that claim to your insurance company, your insurance company may have surrogates (or tried to) against your neighbor’s insurance company.
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments