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Damaged Neighbor When Trimming Trees

My gardener trimmed my trees. I have trees near my property line, and the branches extend over the property line into my neighbors property. My neighbor claims that while the trees were being trimmed, a branch that was trimmed fell down into his property and damaged his pool heater. My gardener denies it. Am I responsible to pay for the damage?

Answer:

The essential liability falls on the gardener, and not on you. You didn’t send him to cause damage, and it was his duty to be careful.

Since the gardener denies it, the neighbor will have to prove his case for the gardener to be liable, and this might be difficult.

Yet, because of the importance of good neighborly relations, I would certainly advise reaching some sort of compromise so that both parties will come out satisfied.

Best wishes.

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