Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Oklahoma

Property Damage and Utility companies

We had some property damage caused by a utility company cutting a tree(not on our property)down. The tree was about 40ft high & is of significant size. After an ice storm they were out early one morning with chain saws cutting the limbs. It appears to us that the trunk of the tree was sawed to the point of causing it to fall(their saw couldn't get as high as they needed it to). The tree tore & bent a canopy on a yard swing. They moved the swing once the tree fell, but not before. The tree also fell on our children's swing set. There is no obvious damage to the swing set. Why is it our responsibility to pay for the damage & tree removal when 1) it was not our tree, therefore we are not responsible for maintaining the branches to the wires and 2) they are not our electrical wires, so we are not responsible for keeping them trimed? They are saying that the tree had already fallen & that their lines broke the fall on our swing set. My husband says you can look at the tree on the other side of the fence & it appears to have been cut before breaking. The trunk of the tree is @24�. Is any legal precedent for utility companies keeping their lines clear or for property damage?


Asked on 12/06/02, 1:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Hunt John Urgentlegalcare.com

Re: Property Damage and Utility companies

Regardless of whose responsibility it was to maintain the right-of-way, the utility company was negligent in not removing or requesting you to remove the items of your property which were foreseeably in harms way.

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Answered on 12/06/02, 3:52 pm


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