Neighbor's retaining wall fell onto my property during mudslide

[mudslide2005]

What is the name of your state? CA

Our neighbor's very large retaining wall fell and slid down the hillside during a recent mudslide. My questions are:

1) Is the neighbor responsible for removing his very large pieces of broken retaining wall from our property?

2) Is the neighbor responsible for removing the mud and debris that came down the hill onto our property (our portion of the hillside is still intact, the debris on our property appears to be from their top portion of the the hillside).

3) Is the neighbor responsible for repairing the damages to our swimming pool and retaining wall (the damages appear to be caused by his falling retaining wall, not the mudslide).

4) What is the statute of limitations to pursue legal action against the neighbor if they are not willing to cooperate?

Neither insurance companies will cover the damage, since a mudslide is not covered under the policies. FEMA won't help because a federal disaster has not been declared.

Help!

 

[seniorjudge]

Did your neighbor cause any of this damage?

No, it is:

"Force majeure," which means natural disasters, including fire, flood, earthquake, windstorm, avalanche, mudslide, and other similar events; acts of war or civil unrest when an emergency has been declared by appropriate governmental officials; acts of civil or military authority; work stoppage or slowdown; embargoes; epidemics; terrorist acts; riots; insurrections; explosions; nuclear accidents; negligent or willful misconduct by customers or third parties; or conditions or delays caused by vendor or supplier issues outside of an entity's control.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

Did his retaining wall, fail? Go to the planning department and see if he had the appropriate engineering and premits if the wall was over 3 ' high. Get an estimate to repair the damage and clear the debris. Try to work an agreement between yourselves and if not, take him to small claims court.

 

[seniorjudge]

Did his retaining wall, fail? Go to the planning department and see if he had the appropriate engineering and premits if the wall was over 3 ' high. Get an estimate to repair the damage and clear the debris. Try to work an agreement between yourselves and if not, take him to small claims court.

I think he also needs to hire an arborist to see if there's something he could plant to prevent this from happening in the future.

 

[ENASNI]

Gee

I think he also needs to hire an arborist to see if there's something he could plant to prevent this from happening in the future.

Maybe let him borrow your Mimosa tree... what is it up to now $8.23?

Ain't Cali fun.. if we aren't drying up we are burning up or we are making mudpies in our back-yards... but heck we got orange trees up the ying-yang
and swimming pools!~

I feel for ya matey.

 

[HomeGuru]

Did his retaining wall, fail? Go to the planning department and see if he had the appropriate engineering and premits if the wall was over 3 ' high. Get an estimate to repair the damage and clear the debris. Try to work an agreement between yourselves and if not, take him to small claims court.

**A: this may be a regular claims action.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

**A: this may be a regular claims action.

True, but until he gets the estimates, information from the permits office and if the wall actually failed it's hard to say much more. I'm sure if he comes back with estimates over the SC limit they will ask and at least they will have the facts to take to the next level. I had a friend with a similar occurance where the whole hill pretty much slid and wasn't covered by insurance and even with engineered repairs went thousands of dollars over budget without fixing the problem. It's hard to fool Mother Nature.
The insurance laws in California changed a few years back and any water related claims create havoc and many people resort to their own repairs rather than go through their insurance company because their insurance gets cancelled.

 

[HomeGuru]

True, but until he gets the estimates, information from the permits office and if the wall actually failed it's hard to say much more. I'm sure if he comes back with estimates over the SC limit they will ask and at least they will have the facts to take to the next level. I had a friend with a similar occurance where the whole hill pretty much slid and wasn't covered by insurance and even with engineered repairs went thousands of dollars over budget without fixing the problem. It's hard to fool Mother Nature.
The insurance laws in California changed a few years back and any water related claims create havoc and many people resort to their own repairs rather than go through their insurance company because their insurance gets cancelled.

**A: thanks............