Do you need clarification on the laws surrounding fallen tree removal? If so, here are some things you need to know. First and foremost, it depends. Is the subject tree on your neighbor’s property? Did it fail in a significant storm? Was it a dead tree? Was the tree growing on private land, or was […]
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Errors and Omissions: A Matter of Design
August 30, 2022Errors and Omissions: A Matter of Design A funny thing happened on the way to the marketplace. We forgot to define something that we use every day in our marketing and advertising, without knowing the definition. Worse yet, we claim to be practicing it, but we’re not. The building blocks necessary to practice this undefined […]
A Farewell to Bow Ties
May 10, 2022A farewell to bow ties. It’s been about 30 years now since that night I came home from an appraisal seminar and declared to my bride that I was going to become the most prolific subject matter expert witness in the Green Industry in the nation. That was also over 1,200 legal assessments ago, 50% […]
Acts of God and Other Silly Notions of Trees
May 3, 2022Adjusting Insurance Claims Acts of God: If you are in the business of adjusting insurance claims, you have no doubt heard this scenario numerous times: “There was this incredible wind out of nowhere, and the next thing I knew my huge tree fell through my roof.” Another often repeated theme goes like this: “It must’ve […]
Do Dead Trees Talk?
April 19, 2022Do dead trees talk? Yes. 11:30 p.m. Had you been there on the wooded hill illuminated by the full moon, you would have definitely heard the noise. But you probably would never, ever have imagined its source. Something like a muffled groan but intuitively not human. Time would pass and you would have filed the […]
If a Tree Fell in the Woods …
April 12, 2022If a tree fell in the woods, would an insurance agent hear it? It is an amazing phenomenon to observe from afar. Extremely intelligent and well-versed insurance professionals handling claims become immobile when a tree or landscape issue comes before them. Their eyes glaze over. Their right hand goes to their chin. Their eyebrows rise. […]
Professional Favors: To Do or Not to Do
March 15, 2022What about those professional favors? Do you see the value in those? I enjoy reading posts from a few select authors on LinkedIn. One of those authors is Lisa Stambaugh, a content writer, who has a legion of informed and intelligent posters. She is like Susan Rooks, the Grammar Goddess, in that both remind me […]
Trees and Class-Action Lawsuits
March 8, 2022Trees and Class-Action Lawsuits One of the first lessons to be learned by a state official when inspecting trees to be earmarked for destruction during a viral outbreak is consideration of the homeowner. Rule #1: Be polite to the lady who opens the door to her home. Rule #2: Don’t kick at her dog. This […]
Dangerous Trees, Driveways, and Sewer Lines
February 22, 2022Dangerous trees, driveways, and sewer lines: In this matter we come to understand that the courts often do not appeal themselves to the emotions of a case or the incidentals such as right and wrong that sometimes differentiate one matter from another. Here we have a plaintiff who owned a big pine tree. Big is […]
Tree Roots, Property Lines, and Neighbors
February 15, 2022Tree roots, property lines, and neighbors: Tree roots do not recognize or respect property lines. They regularly cross property lines without conscience or the realization of doing great harm. The question becomes, what to do with them once they do cross a property line and pose a risk to the neighbor or his property. Root […]