As soon as someone appoints me God, then and only then, will I be responsible for the trees around the lake.

A lawsuit has been filed claiming that Canoe livery was liable for a tree that fell over and killed a canoeist. The tree was not on the livery property but on property near the canoe livery property. 

So one Saturday afternoon you are watching the sun start to set when your neighbor climbs over your fence and attempts to chop down your favorite shade tree. When you ask him why he’s doing that, he says it may fall and hit somebody. After the police have hauled your neighbor away for trespassing and attacking your shade tree you can go back to the sunset. 

In this litigation, the canoe livery had rented a kayak to a man kayaking on Brandywine Creek. As he was paddling back towards the Canoe livery’s landing a tree fell over and killed him. The argument being made by the plaintiff’s attorney was the canoe livery was responsible for everything along the ingress and egress to their landing. No matter whose land the tree was on. The plaintiff is claiming it was gross negligence not to check the trees along the ingress and egress. The suit also claimed that new livery needed to have trained medical personnel on hand at the landing to be able to take care of people who had been hit by falling trees. (LOL). 

Quick legal note. Probably, the Canoe livery used a release and the gross negligence claim is being used to get around the release.
 
Trees fall over. Wind can blow them over, they can die, or you can chop them down. The best arborists, a tree person, in the world are at best making a good guess of whether or not a tree can fall over. Every tree can fall over. So either we cut them all down when you take the risk of a tree falling over in the woods. 

So until you are that good at guessing which trees may fall over, or you are God so that you can divine when trees are going to fall over I can’t see how you can be liable for a tree falling over that you don’t own. However, even then I seriously doubt that either the clairvoyant or God will do anything about a falling tree. There are many other calamities going on in the world, and way too many trees, to worry about a tree falling over in the woods. Let alone worry about whether it a sound. 

SEE Canoe company wants suit dismissed
 
What do you think? Leave a comment.

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