Finally had enough

Neighbor has timber that is across the fence from one of my hay fields. It's old growth timber that is falling over with every wind storm that we have. Each time it naturally falls on the fence and mashes the fence flat (woven wire fence) and causes me to have to fix it repeatedly. It's been going on now for about 7 years. Each time, I go fix it. The neighbor actually lives about 12 miles from this farm of his and doesn't ever go check that fence, even though he has cattle there. It's on the back side of his place and according to Missouri law, this portion of the fence is his to maintain. I talked to him about it last winter and he said he would FOR SURE go in there and doze out all the dead trees......never got done. This last big storm we had last weekend another big tree went down and took out the fence again. I'm flat tired of fixing the fence because of his neglect. I decided it was HIS time to fix the fence any time one of HIS trees goes down. I called him and "asked" him (in a nice way)if he would fix the fence. He said he would....we'll see. I think maybe if he has to fix fence several times (and it WILL happen again) maybe he'll be encouraged to fix the problem right.
 
Insurance rules say that if a storm brings a tree down on your property it's a act of God and the neighbor has no responsibility to fix it--your insurance company does. You DO have insurance don't you?
 
Very simple. If his cattle get out and in turn hurt your hay filed call the law and then he has to pay you for the hay his cattle ate. On that you can pretty much say you lost 1 or 100 bales at say $75 each.
 
Correct so far, BUT if the property owner has been advised that his trees are a danger such as dead or broken limbs, then it is on his nickle. Be sure to document any conversations or registered letters.
Willie
 
Here in Iowa when we township trustees are notified by someone like you about fence problems, we send registered letters to all the landowners involved. We all meet and walk the fence and discus the problems involved with repairing or replacing the fence. We have access to the county records and the county attorney. We decide who is actually at fault and issue orders to fix or replace the fence. Those orders can include removal of trees that are likely to fall on the fence in the future. This is a small overview of what happens in Iowa. If he doesn't fix the fence, you may have recourse against him in this way, ck with your county attorney. Usually when the adjoining land owner gets a registered letter from us he will fix or try to fix his share of the fence.
 
I remember of two fellows that had a similar situation, property line and trees.

the one with no trees had a backhoe come in a dig a ditch about 4 ft from the fence line on his side of the line.

of course the open ditch about 6 ft deep killed the trees along the fence.
but that is a lot of hassle and could cause other problems.

good fences and well marked property lines, normally make for good neighbors,

as dad always said:
take care of your stuff and if you have to borrow something twice, you need to go buy one for yourself.
 
Somewhat different problem. When I was building houses I received a letter from a lawyer who represented an insurance company. They claimed that a tree on my property fell and hit their insureds house causing $1200.00 damage to the house. I was never advised of the tree before it fell. I was about to build the house and the survevor staked the house corners on the property line. There were no broken trees or cut trees on my property, but there was a fresh cut tree stump 2 feet on the neighbor's property. I turned the claim over to my insurance company and the adjuster said we don't have to pay it because it was clearly not our tree. The adjuster called me about 2 weeks later and said they are going to pay the claim because it would cost to much to fight it. justice done.
Bill
 
RandallinMo
Don't know what County you live in,assume Mo is Missouri. You should check our the {Stockman's Law} .. If it applies in your County,you can get your neighbor to fix his part of the fence if you have to go that way.
Curt
 
(quoted from post at 13:42:24 06/18/13) Insurance rules say that if a storm brings a tree down on your property it's a act of God and the neighbor has no responsibility to fix it--your insurance company does. You DO have insurance don't you?
I just had this conversation with my insurance agent.
He said as you say, an act of God. Not responsible.
UNLESS - it is due to neglect where the owner knew or reasonably
should have known that the tree was about to fall.
Not sure how they would go about defining "reasonably".
 
ramdalinMo, I can tell from your post that this has gotten under your skin. Please talk it out face to face and at the Fence line. He may or may not be totally aware of the size and scope of this problem. Here where I live, when I started redoing fences 10 or so yrs ago, we were using a contractor and his D-7 Cat.
We both agreed to doze a ROW that was wide enough, that if a tree at the edge of the ROW fell it wouldn't take out the fence. That has saves our fence many times over. Also allows you or him to be able to drive down, visibly check or shred their side of the ROW . Keep it Clean, Brush sprayed etc,etc. That will be beneficial to both of you, and temperaments. If 1/2of the ROW is not as wide as the Major Over Story Trees on either side then you will ALWAYS have this problem every time the wind changes directions, or Storms Big!!!
At least if he does this and never goes back down that ROW you have cut Your Future Headaches by 97%. Hope this helps!
Later,
John A.
 
I understand that can get old and annoying. You did the right thing by calling him and asking him to repair it, and he said that he will. Chances are good though that he won't take the trees or limbs down. You may find yourself calling him a few more times in years to come. I'm not saying that you should have to, only pointing out that you may find yourself doing so.

Back in the late '70's, North Korea had a tree on the border with limbs overhanging and causing problems for South Korea by blocking something, although I don't recall what it was blocking. Truth be told, North Korea had troops near by and was daring South Korea to trim the limbs in a provocation. Enough was enough, so we sent troops from camp to the site and cut down North Korea's tree right in front of them and dared them. They packed up and left. Different circumstances require different solutions. You did the right thing, and so did we. How things get handled depends upon the other guy, for the record.

Mark
 
Most western states (I'm guessing Missouri would as well) have laws about who is responsible for upkeep of fences and rules for going about having a neglected fence fixed, settling disagreements between neighbors, etc.

In Nebraska, you stand at the midpoint of the fence facing your neighbor's, you are responsible for the half to one side or the other(can't remember left or right).

What we've found is that if a shared fence needs replaced, it's a lot easier to just run some hi tensile about 6 feet from the old fence and not worry about getting into it with the neighbor.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top