Neighbor's tree falls on my property - certified letter

[gergev]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I'm new to Virginia, and have never filed a property claim.
We had a storm last week that felled trees from two different neighboring properties into mine, damaging my fence and a small portion of my house.

Never having to file a claim before, I found out that it is my responsibility, but insurance would cover damage and removal of trees that did damage to the fence. If a tree fell on my property, but did no damage, they would not cover removal.

My neighbors are not inclined to help with my costs.

There are some remaining trees I am concerned could come down and do more damage in the future.

I was told by my claims adjuster advised me to send a certified letter to them, return receipt, requesting they remove trees in question or take some remedial action so that they would not damage my property.

He indicated to me, if I had done so, then I ultimately would not be liable for damages and even my deductible would not be my responsibility.

Is this true? Thanks in advance. GregWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Zigner]

You have a claim against the entity that created the storm. Good luck serving said claim upon said entity...

 

[gergev]

Thanks.

I did speak with both neighbors. They were nice enough, but neither were amenable to paying for the damage their trees caused to my property. From what I have polled recently, maybe 25% of the people have enough conscience/self-responsibility to help. The rest say, wtf, it's the law, I'm not liable.

If a claim is filed, and deductible paid, in my case $1,000, it seems the insurance companies haggle out the rest of estimated damages between themselves under some separate law.

My question still remains. Would the letter have helped... legally? Or from the standpoint of relieving my responsibility for payment as far as the insurance companies are concerned.

 

[Zigner]

You are responsible for payment. The letter wouldn't have helped.

 

[justalayman]

IF the trees were dead or damaged and you had made the neighbor aware of the condition of the trees prior to the storm, yes, the neighbor would be liable for your damages. If there was nothing overtly defective concerning the trees, all the letters in the world would not have made the neighbor liable for your damages. That is simply an act of God, not the neighbor.

If there are sick or dead trees that could be a hazard to your property still, yes, notify the owners of the tree(s). If those trees cause you damage, the owner will be liable for the damage.

 

[ecmst12]

Same thing happened in my neighborhood. My next door neighbor's beautiful, healthy 100 year old tree got hit juuust right by the wind and went down. I cried a little, and not just for the loss of the shade for my front yard! We were lucky that it did not fall on any people, animals, houses, or power lines, but it did put a small dent in a car belonging to another neighbor. The owner of this car was making noise about suing, but she won't get anywhere, because this is a classic case of an ACT OF GOD. Mere mortals can't be held liable for the whims of the Almighty.

However, the owner of the tree WILL be responsible for the removal, regardless of whose property it fell on. Just not any damage the tree might have caused.

 

[gergev]

Thank you very much for all of your responses.

The two locust trees that came down mostly on my property taking out sections of my fence were healthy.

The maple had ivy growing more than halfway up and also had a large hole in it about 5 feet up from the base, although the hole was facing my side so the neighbor might not have been aware.

I am concerned about three standing locust trees that are close to my house. They may come down in the near future because they all have had ivy growing up high. The trees have dead branches 3/4 of the way up and only sparse greenery at the tops, so the wind probably didn't have much to grab to bring them down.

I received further clarification from my adjuster when I asked him if the certified letter would relieve my responsibility for coverage and paying deductible if the trees came down on my side.

He wrote "That is what we have always recommended to people in the past. Without any written record or documentation, there is no liability as the owner with the trees had no notice of an impending problem. It may not do much legally, however, I have dealt directly with cases where the owner of the trees insurance carrier was able to be subrogated for the amount of the repairs.

Unfortunately, I cannot assure you of the course of action that {insurance company} would take in the event of a future claim. I can assure that they would have not course of action without placing your neighbor on notice."

Perhaps Virginia has different laws regarding this type of liability? I've been told that I am responsible for tree removal due to act of god.

"However, the owner of the tree WILL be responsible for the removal, regardless of whose property it fell on. Just not any damage the tree might have caused. "

 

[JustAPal00]

However, the owner of the tree WILL be responsible for the removal, regardless of whose property it fell on. Just not any damage the tree might have caused.

Are you sure about that? I thought that when a tree or part of a tree fell on someones property, it became their property.

 

[ecmst12]

Maybe it's different in different areas, but the township came out to clear the street and they are sending the bill to my neighbors, and they had to take care of the rest of it. I live in a row house neighborhood so the tree covered at least 3-4 people's sidewalks before it got broken down. Might have been handled differently in a more rural area like OP is in.

If the tree is an obvious hazard and you have proof that you notified the neighbor of it, that MIGHT make him liable if it comes down later. Nothing is 100% certain until the insurance company agrees to pay or the judge orders it.

 

[JustAPal00]

Maybe it's different in different areas, but the township came out to clear the street and they are sending the bill to my neighbors, and they had to take care of the rest of it. I live in a row house neighborhood so the tree covered at least 3-4 people's sidewalks before it got broken down. Might have been handled differently in a more rural area like OP is in.

If the tree is an obvious hazard and you have proof that you notified the neighbor of it, that MIGHT make him liable if it comes down later. Nothing is 100% certain until the insurance company agrees to pay or the judge orders it.

I live a little west of you in PA. We had trees down after Agnes I believe. Since it was an act of God, each neighbor was responsible for their own property. I was fortunate, but since I had a chainsaw, I helped the elderly people next door.