What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? NY
About three months ago, we discovered that our neighbor's tree in the backyard was slanting at a 25 degree angle over the fence towards our side of the yard, a month later, the angle worsened to about 45 degrees. Since it looked unstable especially since it was in the area of our children's play area, we kindly asked the neighbors if they could remove it, or even at least the part that was growing into our yard. They refused. We then consulted our village office, and after reviewing photographs, they agreed with our family and told us that we should ask the neighbors to cut it down again, this time with an official letter. After that, the neighbor (a long-time lawyer in the area) responded with a FedExed letter threatening to sue if we took any measures to cut down the tree. He also made the claim that since his tree survived Hurrican Isabel and other vicious storms, that there was no proof that the tree could fall down. We then responded with a cordial letter telling them about our situation and our willingness to come see the backyard for themselves. By this time, the fence separating our backyards was starting to become bent because of the tree's weight and angle.
This past weekend, a nasty rainstorm hit the area, and surprise surprise, my backyard looked like absolute chaos. The tree became completely knocked down into our backyard. What are the legal implications with this issue? I know the storm is technically classified as an "act of God," but we were worried about this exact problem and thus asked our neighbors to remove the tree after consulting our village office for at least five months. Please help, this is becoming a huge headache for me and my family.
About three months ago, we discovered that our neighbor's tree in the backyard was slanting at a 25 degree angle over the fence towards our side of the yard, a month later, the angle worsened to about 45 degrees. Since it looked unstable especially since it was in the area of our children's play area, we kindly asked the neighbors if they could remove it, or even at least the part that was growing into our yard. They refused. We then consulted our village office, and after reviewing photographs, they agreed with our family and told us that we should ask the neighbors to cut it down again, this time with an official letter. After that, the neighbor (a long-time lawyer in the area) responded with a FedExed letter threatening to sue if we took any measures to cut down the tree. He also made the claim that since his tree survived Hurrican Isabel and other vicious storms, that there was no proof that the tree could fall down. We then responded with a cordial letter telling them about our situation and our willingness to come see the backyard for themselves. By this time, the fence separating our backyards was starting to become bent because of the tree's weight and angle.
This past weekend, a nasty rainstorm hit the area, and surprise surprise, my backyard looked like absolute chaos. The tree became completely knocked down into our backyard. What are the legal implications with this issue? I know the storm is technically classified as an "act of God," but we were worried about this exact problem and thus asked our neighbors to remove the tree after consulting our village office for at least five months. Please help, this is becoming a huge headache for me and my family.