Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Damage done to common fence by neighbor

My neighbor has had a truck bedliner leaning up against the fence that we share and over the course of time, the fence is beginning to lean and the fence posts are also leaning. We have requested several times that he please remove the bedliner and fix the fence to avoid future damage. He has adamantly refused to do anything about it and has even threatened to ''come to blows'' about it. Thankfully, this neighbor has recently sold his house and will be moving shortly. My question is, is he resposible for fixing this fence before he moves? And if so, how can I go about making sure that this does indeed get resolved before he moves?


Asked on 6/14/02, 5:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: Damage done to common fence by neighbor

The only statute on the subject pertains to boundary fences and says when neighbors decide to enclose their lands each is equally responsible for maintenance of the fence between. The law was written with agricultural situations in mind, but could be applied to urban fances by analogy. So the neighbor is at least 1/2 responsible and if his improper use caused the damage a court could also pin the other 1/2 on him. However unless the cost is huge, commons sense says forget it.

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Answered on 6/14/02, 6:27 pm


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