Your tree is fallen at a neighbor’s home, are you responsible for the damage ?

as episodes of severe weather are increasing, can you be blamed if a tree located on your property causes damage at your neighbors ? The answer.

During a violent storm or a big gust of wind, a tree located on your property has fallen in your neighbour, causing damage to property ? He can attack you in liability and can claim compensation. It will be here application of article 1384, paragraph 1 of the civil Code. It provides that it is the guardian of the thing that is responsible for the damages caused by it. The concept of a thing is very broad because it includes everything that is not human : a door, a staircase, a piece of furniture, but also the trees that inhabit a garden. As for the guardian, it is usually the owner.

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Except in cases of force majeure

Thus, the owner of land is the keeper of the trees found there. Settled case-law considers that it assumes responsibility if one of his trees down on the road and causes an accident or falls into the neighbour’s property and damaged a building. It is useless to try to demonstrate that you have consistently maintained your trees for escape your responsibility. It will be retained even if you have not committed any fault. The only way to circumvent the claim of your neighbor is to invoke a case of force majeure. Thus, the courts have ruled out the responsibility of the custodian of the thing in the case of tree crushing a car during storms. For a violent storm, the track is digging with a lawyer.