Tree fell on my car at my apartment who's liable?

Question

apartment owners tree fell on my car i have no auto insurance are they liable for damages?

Answer 1

no its called an act of GOD. the only way the landlord would be responsible would be if you can prove the tree was a known hazard before and the landlord didn't do anything to minimize that danger!!!

Answer 2

IF the tree was on apartment property, and IF the tree was obviously dead and decaying for some lengthy period of time, meaning somebody should have cut it down, otherwise it is not negligence, it is an act of GOD and they are not liable.

For the poster that says "act of god" is not part of any insurance contract he has seen, I have the following from the Legal Dictionary at Duhaime:

"Act of God: An event which is caused solely by the effect of nature or natural causes and without any interference by humans whatsoever."

"Although there are several examples of good judicial definitions, the 1922 USA case of Woodruff v Oleite Corporation 192 NYS 189 is often cited:

"(S)omething which operates without any aid or interference of man, and when the loss occasioned is the result in any degree of human aid or interference, or if an act of human negligence contributed to the injury or, though the injury proceed directly from natural causes, if it might have been avoided by human prudence and foresight, it cannot be considered the act of God.

"It is a well-understood physical fact that in this climate water in the pipes in an unheated building will freeze and burst the pipes in the winter season. Ordinary prudence and foresight would have led the person in possession of the building to shut off the water and drain the pipes. Had this been done, the extreme and unusual cold would not have caused the damage. Hence the defendant cannot escape liability on the plea that the injury was caused by an act of God.""

"Act of God" is often used to exclude perils that the ordinary insurance contract does not cover, such as overland flooding, and earthquake, perils that have separate insurance cover.

Answer 3

Fred C has given you the correct answer. If the tree was

decayed and about to fall down that is negligence on the part of the owner of the property and he should be paying for this.

If it was in the middle of a storm and no one had any idea that the tree would fell it is hard luck for you. If someone was

cutting it down and it fell on the car then that is also considered negligence and there would be a claim.

Answer 4

" No One" is Liable for an unforseen act of nature (aka "act of god").

The property owner is Not liable for acts of nature.

It's no different than if a Comet or a Meteorite came screaming out of the sky and hit your car. No one could be held liable for that act of nature either.

As far as claiming negligence, you'd have to be able to prove that the apartments were aware of a clear and present danger that the tree might fall and failed to take any preventative measure. Even if the tree were rotten to the core and they knew it was rotten still does not prove negligence, you'd have to able to prove that the apartments were aware not only of the condition of the tree but that they were also aware that it presented a clear and present danger.

If you'd had full coverage auto insurance with Comprehensive, then your auto policy would have covered the damages.

I'm sorry but there is just no liability here to placed on anyone.

Take Care

Answer 5

Apartment Management

Answer 6

Only if the tree were dead, posed a risk and they refused to do anything about it prior to the loss, i.e; several tenents complained to the apartment management about a dead tree that was on the property but management kept putting off getting it removed -- then they would liable for your damages. If, on the other hand, no one had any idea that the tree was dead and/or about fall and crush a car or human then I doubt the apartment would be held liable.

Answer 7

it doesn't matter...once they find out you dont have insurance they are going to tell you to take them to court...or what are you going to do about it...if you go to court the judge might say its the law you must have insurance..you might be in a heap of p**p..

Answer 8

no insurance= no sympathy.  Maybe god was trying to disable your vehicle so you dont hit a child and have no money for the medical bills.

Regardless-  your apartment is NOT responsible unless they were somehow negligent and you can prove it.  (such as the tree had been rotting a long time and then fell or someone cut it and it landed on your car)

If the tree just randomly fell over in a bad storm you are out of luck.. no lawyer, screaming, or whining will change that.

Answer 9

Yikes,

"An act of God" is not part of any insurance policy I have seen in 22+ years of claim adjusting. It is also not a legit reason to deny a claim. Way too many people making wrong assumptions on this.

Negligence is the only thing that matters here. The apt owner is not negligent just because they own the tree. As others have stated, the apt owner would have to have known that the tree was a hazard and then ignored that hazard, before they would be considered negligent.

You are out of luck on this one.

Answer 10

is it a ficus? Just kidding. Depends on how it fell. Were  they cutting it down when it fell on your car? Or did it fall during a storm? if apt. owners were cutting it, then they are responsible.