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 […]
Category: Legal
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 […]
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 […]
Trees or Cut Timber?
January 4, 2022Trees or Cut Timber? In this matter, a new consultant to tree appraisals found herself across from me in an assignment regarding the cutting of trees without permission, and a trespass. A logger clear-cut 10 acres of standing pine trees on a property that did not belong to his client. A misunderstanding at best. A […]
Coconuts, Palm Trees, & Personal Injury
December 7, 2021Coconuts, Palm Trees, & Personal Injury: Landscape Architects Beware! Palm trees are the poster child for anything tropical. They muster the emotions of going on vacation to an expensive island where grapes will be popped into the visitor’s mouth. Rum drinks and sunsets. Parrots and blue waters. And personal injury, and lawsuits. No other regional […]
Trees Used as Spite Fences
November 30, 2021Did you know that trees are often used as “spite fences”? They’re a beautiful amenity, until they are not. The shade they provide often is an encumbrance, especially to a neighbor trying to grow a vegetable garden. The shade is also most welcome until the leaves and branches start falling onto a neighbor’s property. A […]
Limbs and trees fail …
November 16, 2021Limbs and trees fail. It happens all the time as a natural process of nature, and it’s a good thing, unless there is somebody or something under the limb or the tree. When that occurs, it is seldom viewed as an accident by the person who was the object of stopping gravity or their surviving […]
Beyond the Landmark Court Case, Daubert
October 12, 2021It is not necessary that you be a testifying expert well credentialed in a particular subject matter or a marquee consultant known across the land for your brilliance. However, you should have at least a passing knowledge of the landmark court case, Daubert (versus Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc.). Daubert is a United States Supreme Court […]
Litigating the Garden of Eden
September 20, 2021Can you imagine litigating the Garden of Eden? There were enough issues and problems that Adam and Eve had regarding the protected fruit in the Garden of Eden. Fortunately for them and all concerned, no attorneys were involved in the population mix of individuals considering the consumption of produce in the Garden. The lure of […]
Why Does a Tree Fall?
July 9, 2021Why does a tree fall? After the hustle and bustle of determining legal positioning in a wrongful death or personal injury matter regarding tree failures, this question inevitably comes up. Could the failure have been predicted within a reasonable amount of certainty before the incident occurred? Were the defects open and obvious? Were the defects […]