Baltimore, MD asked in Real Estate Law for Maryland

Q: City is denying my claim with a ridiculous reasons, for damages caused by a dead tree that fell onto my garage? Options?

I live in Baltimore City, MD & I own my house with a detached garage behind. In July a dying tree on city property fell over & caved in my garage roof. The city is denying responsibility because I "didn't call them to tell them the tree was dying". But in actuality in August of 2018 I called to have a huge, tree-sized branch, that fell from a different tree, removed from in front of my garage. On that call to 311 I mentioned the other trees right next to my garage were dying from ivy strangulation. When I reminded them of this during the their call to me the other day, their response was "the report from August shows all trees were fine." This seems absolutely absurd. I'm not a licensed arborist but I've been watching these trees die for 3 years now. I have tons of pictures as proof that the tree is CLEARLY dead & hollow. I have house insurance of course but this isn't my fault. What are my options here? Can I sue? Can I fight back without suing? Thanks in advance!

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1 Lawyer Answer
Richard Sternberg
Richard Sternberg
Answered
  • Potomac, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: If the structure is insured, make your claim and tell the insurer. They may wish to have you subrogate the claim to them to collect against the City. Once they pay for the damage, the proceeds from recovery usually belong to the insurer if they made a right of subrogation part of the policy. That's why you bought the insurance, so use it. Alternatively, you can ignore the insurance and retain a lawyer to investigate the facts and, if appropriate, sue the City.

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