Legal Question in Insurance Law in Pennsylvania

tree owned by the home owners association fell on my property Feb. 13, 2014. I wrote to the association in Sept. 2013 and told them the tree was dead and asked that it be removed. They are now telling me I have to pay to have the tree removed because it was an act of god. Am I responsible?


Asked on 2/20/14, 4:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Teitell Richard K. Teitell, Esquire, P.C.

1. You may need to review the HOA docs -there may be something in there that determines your rights & obligations, as well as the HOA, that suipercedes the next number. 2. If the HOA was aware of a potential problem in 9/13 it's not an act of God (and even if it was that doesn't end the analysis). The HOA was negligent if it did not hire the appropriate expert to inspect the tree & take appropriate action to prevent a decaying tree from falling. 3. The HOA ins policy may cover the HOA for the tree removal & any damage caused by it's falling. 4. Your ins policy MAY cover it- you may want to check. 5. Without my review of documents I can't give a firm opinion, but it's likely the HOA is wrong.

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Answered on 2/21/14, 8:32 am


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