Am I liable?

[sparker20715]

I live in Maryland, but inherited a piece of property in Florida. Recently, a neighbor claims that a tree from that property fell onto their property taking out their electricity. All research I have done says that it is an "act of God" and I am not liable. They claim the tree was dead and since the tree was dead, I was negligent in not having the dead tree removed. I can honestly say, that I do not recall ever setting eyes on the property, so as far as I knew, there were not trees, dead or alive, on the property. In the last correspondence from the Florida attorney, she made me aware of other dead trees on the property. I called the City of Palm Coast and spoke to someone in the Urban Forestry department. When I told an employee there of my situation, she told me they had contacted their attorneys regarding the same situation. Their attorneys told them that if there is not prior knowledge of a dead tree on the property, the owner is not liable. It seems to me that if the neighbor felt this tree posed a danger, they could have called the Urban Forestry department, like I did, and had the property inspected. Then, the Urban Forestry department would have notified me and I would have had the tree removed.

What I need to know is can I be found negligent for never inspecting the property?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I live in Maryland, but inherited a piece of property in Florida. Recently, a neighbor claims that a tree from that property fell onto their property taking out their electricity. All research I have done says that it is an "act of God" and I am not liable. They claim the tree was dead and since the tree was dead, I was negligent in not having the dead tree removed. I can honestly say, that I do not recall ever setting eyes on the property, so as far as I knew, there were not trees, dead or alive, on the property. In the last correspondence from the Florida attorney, she made me aware of other dead trees on the property. I called the City of Palm Coast and spoke to someone in the Urban Forestry department. When I told an employee there of my situation, she told me they had contacted their attorneys regarding the same situation. Their attorneys told them that if there is not prior knowledge of a dead tree on the property, the owner is not liable. It seems to me that if the neighbor felt this tree posed a danger, they could have called the Urban Forestry department, like I did, and had the property inspected. Then, the Urban Forestry department would have notified me and I would have had the tree removed.

What I need to know is can I be found negligent for never inspecting the property?

You should be inspecting your property generally although it doesn't mean you need to be there every month. An act of G-d and negligence can be two completely different issues. If you are aware of a dangerous situation and something happens that may not have happened but for your negligence, then you might be liable. I also don't see an act of G-d here, which would be lightning hitting your tree. They are claiming that if the tree was alive it wouldn't have fallen and damaged their property.

Regarding the situation, what happened to the tree? It didn't just disappear. Did the neighbor provide you with a notice of any kind when this happened? How about your tenant, if there was one?

If you have been told the law, you might answer the neighbor (and thus the attorney) that their attorney is completely mistaken about the facts (and be careful about not saying much, just enough to disagree.) Apparently the Urban Forestry department agrees with you, per your conversation with them. While you are sorry for their trouble it simply wasn't your responsibility and unless they can show any indication to the contrary, there is no basis for their lawsuit.