Tree on fence

[marie1203]

Yesterday afternoon I notice a car was park in front of our house and he was on the phone for about 15min. Eventually he got off the car and walked into our property so I was putting the dogs away to go ask him what he was doing but he left as soon as I open my door. Well this morning I get a knock on my door and it is the same guy!!! Well he says he own two property behind us and one of my trees fell on his fence during Irene (this is the first time we heard about it). I went to grab my land survey and take a look at this tree. When we got to the property he had guys already removing the tree . Almost did not even let us see it. Turns out the tree is 1ft behind his fence. He does not have a land survey and thought he should just go blame us. The crazies thing is that our survey post are still up and can be seen. He told the tree removal guys to tear some planks of he fence to get to the tree instead of going around . The fence damage was very minor one plank just needed to be screw back in (of course that was before he told the guys to tear it up). Even after showing the survey he tried to say it was our property I really do not want to have more problems with this guy. Any advice?

 

[dzorn]

Yesterday afternoon I notice a car was park in front of our house and he was on the phone for about 15min. Eventually he got off the car and walked into our property so I was putting the dogs away to go ask him what he was doing but he left as soon as I open my door. Well this morning I get a knock on my door and it is the same guy!!! Well he says he own two property behind us and one of my trees fell on his fence during Irene (this is the first time we heard about it). I went to grab my land survey and take a look at this tree. When we got to the property he had guys already removing the tree . Almost did not even let us see it. Turns out the tree is 1ft behind his fence. He does not have a land survey and thought he should just go blame us. The crazies thing is that our survey post are still up and can be seen. He told the tree removal guys to tear some planks of he fence to get to the tree instead of going around . The fence damage was very minor one plank just needed to be screw back in (of course that was before he told the guys to tear it up). Even after showing the survey he tried to say it was our property I really do not want to have more problems with this guy. Any advice?

I would just have pointed out the survey stakes to him. If it was on his property and he called the tree people in it is his responsibility. If the stakes are easily removeable I would make sure to get something harder to remove.

Denise in MI

 

[dzorn]

You might want to take pictures of the area.

Denise in MI

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

If I were you I would call my insurance agent and also take pictures. I think that if the tree fell during Irene all the rules change.

From my own experience. The trees that fell on my property during Katrina were my responsibility to clean up.

 

[Mkebound]

Document, document, document.

Write down what happened, with out judgement or emotion. Take photos.


Odds are this was a one off thing and won't matter, but if a pattern of behaviour developed, you need documentation.


Next, if your property is so large you didn't notice a tree fell down, I'd suggest taking a video camera and document what it looks like "now" This gives you a benchmark in case someone damages your fence again. Also I'd walk the property after major storms to see if anything has changed.

 

[kimkoz]

I'd honestly take pictures and document things. What are his plans to send you the bill? Seems odd he'd contact you only after he has already started the process.

 

[marie1203]

Thanks I did take picture with the stakes and you can see the tree behind. I also told him that the insurance company had said it is his responsibility. We knew this because my neighbor tree fell in our fence. But he still insisted so I went and checked it out. I said to him this is your property then I walked behind it and point out the steaks to him and said cans you see me because here is were my property ends. He said ok in a condescending way. Then he went to my next door neighbor and try to tell her it was her tree . I think he is just trying to get someone to pay for it.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

In most states (if not all) it dosen't matter whose tree it is...if the damage happened on his property, its his responsibility.

The only time the adjacent property owners responsible is if there was negligence....like you were chopping down the tree in such a way that you intended it to fall onto his property.

See here and here

 

[rainy~daze]

same here in PA..whoever owns the property the tree fell onto is liable for removing it, not necessarily the tree owner, unless it was a blatantly disregarded, and documented as such, hazard.
So he gets to pay to have the tree cleaned up and I would be contacting the tree company to let them know they had no right to go on my property and they get to fix the fence or fight it out with your neighbor.

Your homeowners insurance should handle it for you to go after these companies without raising your rates, it isn't a claim you are filing.

 

[2binak]

If I were you, I'd let all of the neighbors know that this guy is trying to find someone to blame (& pay) for this so that none of them falls for it.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

If I were you I would call my insurance agent and also take pictures. I think that if the tree fell during Irene all the rules change.

From my own experience. The trees that fell on my property during Katrina were my responsibility to clean up.

This is correct. I know from experience too. If the tree falls from an "Act of God" (hurricane, tornado, lightning, etc) each person is responsible for the damage of their own property.
Now, if the tree was dead, that's different. It's the owner's responsibility to take care of trees and have them removed if dead. Had the tree fallen due to this, the person whose property the tree was on would be responsible for all damages.

 

[marie1203]

And this is what I don't get the tree is clearly on his property. He doesn't have a survey of his property so I don't see how he is trying to blame others

 

[WeLuvDCL]

I really wouldn't waste any more time thinking about it. If he went over to your neighbor and said the same thing to them, he clearly knows he's responsible and is just trying to con someone into paying for it. I would let all your surrounding neighbors know what he is doing and what the law is so they don't fall for his con.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I think that if the tree fell during Irene all the rules change.

Only in places were Hurricanes are regular events, mostly on or near coastal areas. In those areas, a homeowners policy might excluded damage attributable to a named storm.

For inland folks, damage from wind storms, even hurricanes, are generally covered.

Most people know whether or not they have to have separate hurricane coverage.

 

[disneymarie]

Even after showing the survey he tried to say it was our property I really do not want to have more problems with this guy. Any advice?

Do nothing, say nothing, as long as you do not own the fence, and it is not a dead tree from your property, it is not your problem.
If you hear from him again, it better be with a surveyor cetified that you did something that could have prevented the proble,

Even if one of your trees fell on his garage, during a storm it was an act of nature. Unless he told you it was dead and leaning toward his fence.

He is just looking for someone to clean the tree and get a fence. There is a thing call mitigating damages too. If he is having someone tear down a fence that is not destroyed, it is out of his pocket to repair.

 

[cvjw]

We have dealt with this issue twice already. Once, during a hurricane, our large oak tree was blown down into our street, and our neighbors fence. I just assumed that since it was my tree, it was my responsibility. My insurance agent told me otherwise. An act of God on a healthy tree, is not the tree owner's responsibility. Clean up is the responsibility of the property owner who sustained the damage. We did not have to pay to clean up our neighbor's fence and yard.

Second time - our next door neighbor had a giant sweet gum tree right on our fence line. It actually leaned over our fence, right towards our house. I called my insurance agent and explained the situation to him. He told me that since the tree is leaning, and can be documented as such, that if it ever fell, it would be the responsibility of my neighbors, not us. We actually worked with the neighbor, and halved the cost of the tree removal before it fell.

You are in the clear since it isn't your tree. If it were your tree, your neighbor would have to prove that the tree were damaged before it fell for it to be your responsibility.