Whos Responsible For Cutting Yhe Tree?

[WILLBEDONE]

My State Is Louisiana..my Parish Is St.landry..

The Church Next Door Had This Huge Rotten Tree That Fell Into My Yard
It's Going To Cost A Lots To Cut And Remove This Tree From My Yard.

Who Is Responsible The Church Or Me For The Tree.

Thank You

 

[EveL]

My State Is Louisiana..my Parish Is St.landry..

The Church Next Door Had This Huge Rotten Tree That Fell Into My Yard
It's Going To Cost A Lots To Cut And Remove This Tree From My Yard.

Who Is Responsible The Church Or Me For The Tree.

Thank You

I know nothing of Louisiana law but I can’t imagine you are responsible for their tree. If the tree is clearly theirs and on their property, I would think they are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the trees on their property. In fact I would think they are not only responsible for removing the tree but also for any damage sustained to your property from the fall. If the problem is that they can’t afford to take care of it, you should contact their insurance company. If it’s really a dispute I would just contact their insurance company and they will figure out who is responsible. If they won’t give you the contact information of their insurance company, call your insurance company. The insurance companies know all the laws regarding damage and clean up of these sorts of things.

 

[rowz]

Unless there is something to the contrary in LA law, most often it is the responsibiity of the one who owns the land WHERE the tree landed.

I know it sounds wierd, but that the way it is in many jurisdictions.

Unless the owner of the tree was ON NOTICE that the tree was diseased or damaged in such a way that it posed an iminent hazard and the owner was aware of that state of affairs then the problem belongs to the one who owns the land.

Only a suggestion....you could send a certified letter to the Church letting them know that they have X amount of time to notify you ofHOW & WHEN they are going to deal with the problem that their tree has created. If they do not know their rights they may to agree to remove it.

 

[seniorjudge]

My State Is Louisiana..my Parish Is St.landry..

The Church Next Door Had This Huge Rotten Tree That Fell Into My Yard
It's Going To Cost A Lots To Cut And Remove This Tree From My Yard.

Who Is Responsible The Church Or Me For The Tree.

Thank You

WILLDEBEEST:

Call the nice folks at the church and tell them to come get the Tree of Good and Evil which fell on your land.

 

[divgradcurl]

Unless there is something to the contrary in LA law, most often it is the responsibiity of the one who owns the land WHERE the tree landed.

I know it sounds wierd, but that the way it is in many jurisdictions.

Unless the owner of the tree was ON NOTICE that the tree was diseased or damaged in such a way that it posed an iminent hazard and the owner was aware of that state of affairs then the problem belongs to the one who owns the land.

Only a suggestion....you could send a certified letter to the Church letting them know that they have X amount of time to notify you ofHOW & WHEN they are going to deal with the problem that their tree has created. If they do not know their rights they may to agree to remove it.

While I generally agree with this advice, you need to be VERY careful applying the laws of the other 49 states to what might happen in Lousiana. Lousiana state law is NOT based on the common law system that the rest of the country uses. In many cases it is similar, but in a large number of cases, the law is entirely different, and further, the use of caselaw and precedent is different as well.

I'm not saying that this advice is incorrect -- I don't know if it is or not -- but just to be careful when trying to analogize Lousiana to the rest of the country.

 

[rowz]

Hi divgradcurl:

Many thanks for your considered response. I do appreciate the care you took in writing it.

My post had the disclaimer right up front as I have seen in my lurking time here that LA is a "special situation" as you describe.

Not too long ago I saw a thread in here where the LA exceptions were very important to the OP's situation there & it served to make me especially aware of by being aware to not be broad in any replies.
Its likely that I could have been more direct in my weaseling so some readers would not slide over that too easily. Its easy to do.

Anyway, my thanks for pointing out the edge of the cliff. It will keep me on my toes.

rowZ

 

[Baracus]

Since this was a church, could an "act of God" still be considered their fault?

 

[154NH773]

Like others have said, the laws in your state may differ. In NH, when I had a similiar situation, my insurance company said that any tree that fell from someone elses property had to be removed by the owner of that property. If the tree caused damage, their insurance should pay for the damage.

 

[SnowCajun]

Since this was a church, could an "act of God" still be considered their fault?

Is it still an "act of God" if the church knew the tree was "rotten" as the OP stated when he said, "The Church Next Door Had This Huge Rotten Tree That Fell Into My Yard", yet they'd never done anything about it? If they knew it was rotten, or it was obvious it was rotten, would they not be negligent in not having taken proper care of it? Also, would they not also be responsible to replace any sod damage or cracked sidewalks possibly damaged from the "huge tree" falling over to his land?

So if he has to pay to remove this mess can he not be compensated by small claims court for money cost him for their rotten tree falling to his property? Why should he be out for the church neglecting to have the rotten tree removed? The OP makes it sound like it was pretty obvious this thing was dead and rotten! I guess they're pretty lucky it didn't fall on some child riding past on their bicycle!

 

[rowz]

Its not what they SHOULD have known, it is not what they MAY have known it is what they DID know.

Someone on here has the tag line sig that says something about many disputes being such abridged 'it is so, it is not so" et cetera, et cetera. With the church here as described,I think that this could be one of those disputes.