Legal Question in Civil Litigation in South Carolina
property damage by neighbor
Our neighbor had some trees cut down that were on his side of the property line. In doing so, the people he hired to cut them down, damaged our privacy fence in several locations. We took pictures. We asked the people who cut the trees down to fix the fence and they said they would, but never did. We then asked the property owner and he said he would contact the workers who did the job. The fence has still not been fixed. Who is responsible for repairing the fence? Are the workers responsible, because they did the damage? If they won't fix it, is the property owner responsible since he hired them to do the job?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: property damage by neighbor
Both the property owner and the workers are responsible for the damages. The workers were his authorized agents. Hopefully, your neighbor hired workers that were insured and bonded. If so, you may file a claim against the workers' insurance policy. If not, you may still file a claim against the workers, but they may not have the financial means to pay. You may also file a claim against your neighbor's homeowners policy.