On May 12, 9:07*am, Joe wrote:
On May 11, 4:41*pm, wrote:



"Phisherman" wrote in message
news On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:09:11 -0700 (PDT), 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.

I spoke with an insurance adjuster tonight that is licensed in every
state, Canada and most countries in Europe. So I trust their opinion,
which is strictly from an insurance standpoint.

First question: Did you ever discuss the dead tree with the neighbor?
Or him with you? *(Was he aware that it might be dangerous?)

If yes: Call your insurance company. They will remove the tree and
collect from the neighbor or his insurance. There may be a limit to
how much they will pay to dispose of the debris.

If no: Is the fence yours? (Yes means it is covered by your insurance)
If yes: Is the dead tree touching the fence? If yes: Your insurance
will pay to remove the tree to prevent addtional damage to insured
property. No coverage for your tree unless you have a landscaping
rider.

If the fence is the nieghbor's and the tree is touching it, his
insurance will pay to remove it.

If the neighbor was not made aware of the danger and the tree is not
toughing the fence then God intended for you to have that tree, dead
or not. It is your responsibility to remove it.

But, God may not be finished with the tree. A late, windy night the
tree could fall farther and contact the fence. Then, whoever owns the
fence needs to call their insurance company.

There is no fence - just a rock wall that will not go anywhere if a
tree falls on it. More likely it will take out a couple of smaller
trees in the back of my property. The owner had to know about the tree
because a dead tree- *that was literally a foot away from this one -
fell on his house last year. The tree guy who came to remove it most
certainly informed him about the 2nd dead tree right next to it but
the owner decided against removing it. The fact that the tree is
leaning toward my yard and threatening to fall into my yard *should be
enough for him to take care of the problem but he just doesn't see to
care. Question. If his tree fall through my yard and ruins the
neighbors fence behind me - who then is responsible for the tree -
when it's grown on one property and falls into two others?

You first asked about this 3 weeks ago. People giving opinions
suggested a variety of options, with most of them suggesting you
simply go talk to the neighbor first. And if that didn't work, then
to check with the municipality code enforcement official, who may
treat it as a public safety issue.

Since the tree is obviously dead and a danger, I think the neighbor
would likely be responsible for damage if it occurs to other property
owners when and if it finally falls. That situation is different
from a tree with no obvious problems that falls, in which case the
person who's property if falls from is generally not responsible.
However, you aren't going to get a for sure answer here, as we don't
even know where you live, let alone what the local laws may be. If
you want a real legal opinion, talk to a local attorney. The attorney
aside from giving an opinion, will most likely want to write a
letter. And be aware that who may be responsible and actually
establishing that and collecting are two different things. Since you
now say a second property is in danger too, why haven't you and that
owner just gone over and discussed it instead of engaging it open
ended "what if" speculation?