My tree--your yard. Who is responsible?

Factual Questions
1

I know this has been asked before but I can’t find it, as I’m posting from an unheated, unlit, freezing house.

Anyway, I have a tree whose branches overhang my neighbor’s yard. The recent snowstorm brought down numerous branches, many of which landed in the next yard. Am I responsible for clearing these? The neighbor on the other side has a tree on his property and it dropped a ton of huge branches on my property. I need to know which branches to start cleaning up, as I can’t do them all.

In a separate question, I have a branch that is partially cracked and is overhanging my neighbor’s power lines. If the branch breaks, I assume I am responsible? Will my homeowner’s policy cover that damage?

2

Legally, all I really know about is the FRUIT of a tree. If you have the tree in your yard, and it bears fruit on branches that hang over the neighbor’s yard, the neighbor gets to keep the fruit.

AFAIK, your tree branches belong to the neighbor. If he wants to trim your tree back along the fence line, it’s his prerogative. Same goes for you. If trimming those branches actually KILLS the tree, then you will probably end up in court with one of the TV judges.

We owned a house on a narrow lot with a BIG HONKIN’ English walnut tree. I swear, the branches probably extended down two or three houses.

Seriously…Hubster wanted to trim the tree, and the neighbor to the North asked him to LEAVE it. Neighbor was doing some literal “shade tree mechanics” on a car and he liked the shade from the tree while he was working.

So, one of the big branches fell, and it busted the windshield of the car.

OF COURSE, Neighbor felt that we were responsible.

I doubted seriously that we were, especially since Neighbor had specifically declined any branch trimming.

However, I wanted to remain on good standing with Neighbor, so I paid him fifty bucks, what he possibly would have had to shell out for an insurance claim.

(the car was a clunker, and I’m SURE there was no insurance on it…)

So, my vote is to clean up the mess on YOUR side of the fence, and let Neighbor worry about the mess on HIS side of the fence. Take pictures first, though. So if he does come knocking on your door, you can show him the pictures and say, “I figure it’s a wash.”
~VOW

3

According to my uncle who lives in Maryland, when trees fall due to Acts of God like Hurricane Irene, by state law what matters is where the tree lands.

Fortunately, his neighbor was kind enough to clean up the trees which started out in the neighbor’s yard and ended in my uncle’s driveway.

(Uncle was lucky, no house, car or boat damage. Freezer contents were lost (due to four days of no power).)

4

Very generally speaking, you have to bear some negligence in order to be responsible for another person’s property damage. If the tree was healthy and the neighbor hadn’t asked you to trim back the branches then you have done nothing wrong. It’s an “act of nature” and each person should take care of the mess on their respective properties.

As a sidebar, a legal responsibility isnt’ necessarily a moral one. If you want to keep good relations with your neighbor, why not clean up his side at the same time you’re cleaning up your side?

5

Yeah, as Ruby said above, if you both have branches from each others’ trees in your yards, why not just have a friendly chat with your neighbour and you can both agree to clean up your own yards? Does it have to be an issue? Many things can be solved amicably and to everyone’s satisfaction.

6

Yeah, trust some Doper to suggest a mature and sensible solution. Where’s the fun in that? :mad:

7

I don’t think that’s quite the situation. The OP’s tree’s branch fell in neighbour A’s garden while neighbour B’s trees’s branches fell in the OP’s. He doesn’t want to clear both so is wondering which to do.

My vote’s for clearing your own garden.

8

Just wanted to add that you should also talk to the neighbor about the overhanging branch. Regardless of who is legally responsible, a cracked branch that brings down a power line is a hazard that could be avoided.

9

Legally, the neighbor should pick up the branches. The general rule is that you own the tree, but the neighbor can do whatever he wants with branches, fruit, etc. on his side, as long as it doesn’t cause the tree to die.

As a good neighbor, though, it would be a nice gesture if you offered to clean up the branches yourself. I’ve done that for branches from my tree that fell on my neighbor’s side.

10

Regarding the cracked branch overhanging the power lines, you might want to contact the power company. Some of them will clear possibly hazardous branches at no cost to the owner, just to avoid having to repair the lines if anything happens.

11

Yep, this is the situation. I guess I will clean up my own yard first before I can start worrying about my neighbor. I would do both but we’re talking a full week of work here.

Thanks, taffygirl, for the suggestion to call the power company about the cracked branch. They are a little busy right now but hopefully they’ll get to it before the next storm.