If a tree falls and damages my property during a storm, does it matter which property the tree came from? New York, YANML.
I don’t know about New York specifically, but in most places property owners have no liability for damage caused by falling trees.
Sandy dropped a tree on my car. It was the neighbours’ tree; my insurance paid for my car, the fence wasn’t worth worrying about, and the neighbours’ landlady took care of removing the tree.
It depends. If a storm topples a neighbor’s healthy tree onto your property it’s considered an act of god with no liability.
If the tree was diseased then the insurance company may start an investigation to determine if the neighbor was or should have been aware of the tree’s condition and whether their inaction in removing it prior to the storm contributed to the tree falling.
Yup. Unless your neighbor’s tree was clearly at risk of falling, such that any reasonable person would take measures to remove it, there is no liability if it falls on you and squashes you flat.
There is a big difference between “shit happens” and negligence/liability.