DK wrote:
Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:
BAR wrote:
John H. wrote:
On Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:06:37 -0400, BAR wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:20:43 -0500, BAR wrote:

At about 3:30 PM today, in Maryland, a big strong wind came up
and just blew down the blue spruce in my front yard. Didn't hear
a thing and didn't hit my house. My next door neighbor told me
she just watched it slowly go from vertical to horizontal. It
missed the gate and took out a section of split rail fence. There
goes a couple of thousand dollars.

Those of your north of me keep safe.
We were having a nice little sunny break from the rain, and
suddenly it
sounded like a freight train coming through. I ran out and watched
the big
oaks going back and forth with a lot of concern. Luckily nothing
fell over.

Sorry to hear about your loss, but glad no one was hurt.
The problem is the sister to my tree, five feet across the property
line is leaning towards my drive way, and the root ball is lifting.
We moved my truck out of harms way and have left the 10 year old
minivan parked in the driveway.

What are the options? Is the other property occupied? Will the owner
get
the tree cut down? I guess, from a monetary point of view, the
choice would
be to let it fall and then get the insurance to cover damages. The tree
will still need to be cut up, but maybe you can use the firewood.


If my neighbor's tree falls and hits any of my property besides a
bush or tree then I have a claim against his homeowners insurance.

They are blue spruce, not good for burning unless it is a bonfire.
There is too much tree for me to cut up. If I was doing the cutting
up it would take a couple of weeks, as a full time job. Sixty feet of
blue spruce is quite a lot of limbs and the trunk is about 2 feet in
diameter. And, I would have to have it hauled away. Luckily I have a
tree guy, licensed but not unionized.


If the tree is healthy and is knocked down by an act of God, it would
be your homeowners insurance which would pay for the damages. Only if
the tree is unhealthy and it is obvious to a reasonable man that the
tree will fall would your neighbors insurance pay for any damages.


He said it's already leaning in his direction. They should take care of
it now or it will be their responsibility.

The owner does not have to take care of it NOW, he needs to take care of
it in a reasonable time frame. Depending upon the circumstances, that
could mean anywhere from a day to weeks or maybe even a month depending
upon the availability of a tree surgeon. After a major storm, hurricane
or tornado, a tree surgeons may not be available for an extended period
of time.