Joe wrote:
My neighbor has had a dead tree in the back of his property for about
a year, last night the wind finally broke the trunk and it fell a
little toward my yard but was stopped by a large oak tree on my
property. I'm worried that it might break apart and fall when my
children are playing in the yard. I need this tree to come down and
I'm worried that my neighbor won't do it. They have a habit of only
doing the kind of maintenance that is absolutely necessary. How do I
approach them to make sure they take care of this problem? I'm on
good terms with this neighbor and I'd like to take care of this in the
most tactful way possible but I get the feeling they are going to tell
me that if I want the tree down I'm going to have to pay for it
myself.
The laws differ in each state. Here (Maryland), the neighbor is legally liable
for any of my damages or clean-up costs if he was negligent in ignoring a
hazardous condition that would predictably lead to my damages. For example, if
a large, apparently healthy, over-hanging branch from his tree broke off and
fell into my house or yard, he is not liable. If his tree was obviously dead
and leaning my way, I would have a case in MD. Bottom line: You need to check
your state laws if the situation cannot be resolved by a neighborly discussion.