if somebody elses property damages my property they should pay for it. i had a tree fall on my bug when i was in high school. they said said it was "park at your own risk" and they were not responsible and it was "an act of god". i took pics of the tree and took them to small claims over it. as soon as the judge saw the pics of the tree and others in question for the neglect of being pruned the judge sided with me and they had to pay. now if your neighbor was letting you park your car at his house as a favor for you and this happend i would say "shit happens" and he is not at fault.
59 chevy,bad engine,no insurance...hate to say it but i bet you dont see a dime..unless your neighbor pays.
Sorry on the car guy . I had a tree fall on my house and car . Only claim when i talked even to my home owners ins. was on mine . If the tree was rotten or neglected you may have a case but you should have pics showing tree in bad condition before it fell . A act of God in the insurance industry is a big gray area . I do and will trim back trees that are on my side of property that will possibly cause damage . Some states allow this and some dont .
Police do not write reports regarding civil matters. If your car is valued at $5K or less, it would be a small claims court case. If above $5K, it will require an attorney. You would probably be better off going with an attorney as insurance companies generally value a classic based on blue book. The neighbors homeowners insurance should cover the loss.
In WA if a neighbors tree falls on your property, its your home owners insurance that will cover it. Unless there was any visual evidence that the tree was a danger to your property and was reported, it has nothing to do with your neighbor. If the tree showed any danger to your property , then you would need to send a registered letter to your neighbor that his tree is endangering your property and that it should be removed. This then would be all on your neighbors homeowners insurance. Dont be pissed at your neighbor, just handle the claim through your insurance company.
it's not your neighbor's fault is it? is it a tree you told him to take down before? in writing, certified mail? if not, it's your fault for not having it insured properly. your neighbor doesn't control the wind does he? why should he be responsible for the wind blowing a tree on his property over. it's your responsibility to properly insure the property you own, house, car, and whatever else...
RIGHT ON!!! Chris knows most of this story but i'll share anyway. i was driving my buddy's 63 Chevy wagon home one night. i was just around the corner from my house (about 200 yards from my driveway) when i noticed that a bunch of my neighbor's cows were in the road. they were black cows and it was a dark night. out of the 5 or 6 that were in the road i managed to hit 2 of them. luckily i had already started to slow down for the intersection and was only doing about 40 rather than the posted 55. the car was fully covered insurance wise and his insurance paid with no problems (i did get a police report to be on the safe side). they even adjusted the amount the appraiser quoted after i pointed out several errors in his report. getting back on track. his insurance paid BUT they also contacted me to get information because THEY are now going to go after the owner of the cows (more accurately, their insurance company). the point is you might want to talk to your homeowners insurance company and see what they tell you. perhaps they will pay up and handle the dealings with his company. i'm sure that is wishful thinking but it's worth a shot. i don't trust these insurance companies so if they tell you to take a flying leap (and they probably will) i think it would be worth consulting with a lawyer just to make sure that what the insurance company is telling you is in fact the way it is. i have heard though that most homeowners insurance does not cover vehicles AT ALL. i don't know it for fact but i've heard it several times. but again, i'd check with a lawyer. remember that perfectly restored 57 Chevy that bruned up in that house fire on M-21? i heard rumor it was uninsured and the guy was just shit out of luck. i hope that is not the case but be prepared for it... that does'nt mean, however, that you can not take your neighbor to small claims court. not that i'm advocating that, i'm just saying... ...first thing is first, i'd talk to him (nicely) and see what he has to say. if it was me i'd make every attempt to make things right. unless you were being a dick to me.
actually that neighbor DOES control the wind. he is the executive VP in charge of weather control for that county.
I think in Michigan you need insurance on the car to be covered, at least that's what my agent told me. Homeowners doesn't cover them unless they're in a garage and it burns down, or something like that then HO covers it. But he told me for cars I care about but don't drive I should have comprehensive coverage on them in case of things such as wind, falling trees, hail damage, etc. ('acts of God'). Costs something like $18 or so a month for my TBird during the off-season for comp. Best to check your homeowners policy, perhaps yours is different. Good luck, hope you get it resolved! I'm mid-Michigan & the wind has been wicked today! At least 2 trees have gone down on my property this morning (Sunday 28th), fortunately they didn't hit anything.
Not always the case...I often fill out a "damaged property" report for situations such as this...dont know what the rules are in your state but in FL its still a civil issue, it just so happens that we as law enforcement document it for the ins co. first...call up you cop shop on the non-er line and ask.... first talk to the home owner, see what their stance is (that will determine alot) I wouldnt recommend a shark (lawyer) unless nessesary (not discounting that path but would leave it as a last course of action) Typically homeowners will cover stuff like this (least they will in FL)
Question, what made the tree fall? If it was a natural act, then it is called "an act of GOD", the neighbor is not liable, IF the neighbor was cutting on the tree or doing any work on it, then the neighbor is responsible. When my big 48" tree fell on the neighbor's house, during a wind storm, his insurance paid for damage from his property line inward, my insurance paid from my property line inward to my home. So depending on what lead up to it, you may have to fix it yourself.
Good points here, but also keep in mind, it sounds like you and your neighbor get along fine up to now. Don't let this change it. Use common sense and good judgement and work it out between you and stay good neighbors. Having a bad neighbor that hates you can be way worse than some damage to your truck. It was his tree, but it fell into your yard. All trees eventually fall - that's just a fact. It may be your homeowner's insurance that may need to cover it. As mentioned, it is best to just get both your homeowner's insurance companies to figure it out. They will be VERY happy that no one got hurt. That is what they do and that is what they are for. This will just be a very normal and probably pretty minor thing to them. They will know what to do. If your neighbor is responsible and he doesn't have insurance, he isn't willing to help out, your insurance isn't willing to step in, then you need to decided if hiring a lawyer is worth maybe ending up with a neighbor that hates you. But, there is a lot of if's before that stage. Discuss it with him, remain calm and usually this kind of thing can be worked out. Who knows, maybe you can become even better friends with your neighbor over it. Maybe he can just help you fix it as a project and get him more into cars as well.
In WA. this is a act of god you are on the hook unless you gave him notice about the tree before it happend you shoud of had insurance on the car and you would mut be at this point...sorry man
I had to deal with a similar situation recently. One of my trees blew over in a wind storm, onto my neighbor's property. Luckily it got tangled up in another tree before it crushed their house. My insurance agent (who is also my cousin) tells me that if my tree blows over in a storm and hits their house, it's their insurance that has to pay, not mine. Doesn't matter who owns the tree. That's why their insurance is not going to pay for your car. Unfortunately for me, since I knew about the tree blowing over and since it was in danger of ruining the neighbors house but hadn't yet, I had to pay to take it down. So the only way you're going to get them to pay is if you can prove that they knew the tree was in danger of falling on your car and they did nothing. Sounds to me like you're screwed and you're going to have to fix the car yourself. Contrary to the uninformed assumptions people are making here, your neighbor is not responsible for the damage done by the tree, even if it is his tree.
I had a very large tree get uprooted in a storm. Most of it was still in my yard and some of it was in the neighbors yard. This particualar tree was beyond my skills in removing the precariously pearched trunk as it was still partially upright as another large tree was somewhat supporting it. When I called my insurance company about it they told me this: They were responsilbe for what was IN MY YARD - meaning damage, cleanup and the like. Any other damage done in a neighbors yard was on THEIR insurance company and they stated the "act of god" as being the reason. I nor the insurance company had any obligation or responsibility beyond my yard. I've since talked with several people in my area - all told me of similar experiences. Based on my experience - I would say that you FIRST need to call YOUR INSURANCE Co. and see what they say. The "act of god" doesn't necessarily prevent them from covering damage (it didn't for me) but it did limit their liability. Good Luck
Moral of the story....check your state laws...as squawblow mentioned HE was on the hook, that was HIS situation in HIS state...it does not mean you are seeing as he doesnt live in the same state you do... As I eluded to. In Fl if it was on your neighbors property and damaged something on someone elses property...the primary owner of said tree is on the hook. In other words. No one knows what the hell they're talking about unless they know YOUR laws... I can only give you examples from FL...it dont apply here though
I had the same happen to a '73 Firebird. After all the hashing out, I wound up with a 10 day notice on my front door to remove all inop. vehicles in TEN days!!!<p> Be very calm & cool .
I had a tree fall on my van after an ice storm. It was my neighbor's tree and she said no problem that she had insurance to cover it. The damage was over $5000. Contacted her insurance and was told that they would not cover the incident. It was an act of God. Had it been negligence on their insured's part then they would cover it but since it was not it was up to my homeowners insurance not the insurance I had on the vehicle. Checked with my attorney and was told the same thing. Pissed me off that my insurance had to pay instead of hers but at least it was covered. Later, Dick
Man a 48" tree? That must have taken out 100 blades of grass!! Most all of our trees we worry about are about 160ft high. LOL.
Here is an example. Lets say you live in a $80,000 home...as does your neighbor. A person comes to look at a car he has...but he drives a $300,000 Ferrari. A high wind comes up..your tree crushes Ferrari..insurance is $80,000. Would you want the laws to be that..the insurance company pays the damage for the total amount of your insurance $80,000..but what about the rest ? You would have to pay the $220,000.. Given that an insurance company could never assess the risk of the amount in dollars of UNINSURED vehicles that may be damaged..how would they be able to price the risk ? All homeowners policies would be incredibly expensive to account for the unknown. Your car insurance covers your car..at the value of the car..a known amount. Your homeowners insurance covers your home for a known amount. If your tree fell on that Ferrari..you sure you want to pay for it..cause someone didn't take care to cover it ? Not me..
Unless you have full coverage your fucked.. And an act of god dont work either . I lost 2 cars from a tree falling across my drive .. the 3rd truck had full coverage.. My neighbor told me to sue them but i didnt .. Im not that kind of an asshole but we were talking on friendly terms and were still friends... Sorry but im sure your screwed.. Dave
Here's some things about trees that I learned the hard way as a homeowner, via an F-4 tornado... 1) Insurance will not remove trees...UNLESS...that tree falls in or on top of, or affecting insured property. Your tree falling on top of your insured home (or car) is covered by your homeowner's policy. I lost 155 trees, ranging in size from 20' to over 65' tall. Yes, it was expensive. 2) ANY part of someone else's tree, overhanging YOUR property, is YOUR problem. 3) Trees or tree parts that blow in from other people's property are YOUR problem, and you have to pay to remove them (except in circumstance #1, above), and the damage they cause to your property is YOUR problem. 4) If they deem it an AOG, fight it!!!
Hope for the best, expect the worst, and pray hard in the meantime. Sorry for your loss. God bless, and good luck with that.
remember that perfectly restored 57 Chevy that bruned up in that house fire on M-21? i heard rumor it was uninsured and the guy was just shit out of luck. that guy was renting a house and didnt have renters insurance. the home owner, his parents, where paid for the home but the contents of the house and garage where not covered. i did talk to my neibor today. they were going to wake me up when they saw what happened and decided not to. they have already turned it into the insurance and there should be no problems. hopefully shes right. after i calmed down yesterday and took a while to reevaluate the damage, i think the window opening will be a simple repair for someone that knows what their doing( kustombuilder! ) then it looks like a hood, fender, and windsheild are all thats nessasary to complete repairs! hoping for good news but ill wait and see.
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