WHEN A TREE FALLS IN WINTER PARK...WHO PAYS?

Winter Park Home, Fall, 2004

After the hurricanes tore through Winter Park, many homeowners found themselves poking through a mass of limbs, branches, and leaves to assess the damage to their homes, cars, and other valued possessions. Like most of us, they hadn’t really thought much about who would ultimately be responsible for the extensive damage that those normally benign shad trees can cause when they come crashing down.

Many of us assume that the owner of the property on which the tree formerly resided would be the responsible party. In most instances, that’s not the case.

According to Frank Pohl, partner at Pohl & Short, a Winter Park law firm specializing in real estate law, “In general, it doesn’t matter whose property the tree was located on prior to its collapse. Once that falling tree crosses your property line it becomes your responsibility.” You and your insurance company are responsible for removing the carcass and repairing or replacing any structures, vehicles, or other items on your property that were damaged or destroyed by the wayward tree.

However, Pohl notes that there are exceptions to the rule. If the neighbor’s tree was in obvious decline through damage or disease for a significant period of time prior to falling on your property AND you had made several attempts to notify the neighbor of your concerns in writing (preferably with copies to the city’s Forestry Division), you may have a case for suing the property owner for negligence.

Proving negligence is very difficult without a strong paper trail of prior notifications that went unheeded. So, Pohl cautions that the generally accepted premise that the falling tree becomes your responsibility upon crossing your property line is the only realistic approach in most situations.

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Frank Pohl founded Pohl & Short, P.A. based upon the belief that a high quality small commercial law firm was needed in the Orlando, Florida area as an alternative to the large commercial law firms. He still believes that client responsiveness and satisfaction has a place in a fast changing legal profession. Frank has been involved in the Central Florida community for more than twenty-five years. He has been a dedicated past board member of many local organizations over the years. Frank graduated magna cum laude with a B.G.S. Degree from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida; attended the University College at the University of London as an undergraduate studying British literature and British history; obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree in 1979; and obtained a Masters of Law and Letters Degree (LL.M.) from New York University School of Law in 1980. Frank is a member of The Florida Bar, the California Bar, and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. He has served on the Orange County Bar Association Real Estate Committee and is a member of the The Florida Bar’s Real Property and Corporation and Business Law Section. He has also served on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee.