Q: Is it illegal for neighbors to throw large limbs from my fallen tree that was knocked down in a storm over the fence?
After the major Derecho storm that passed through Houston last week, one of my trees fell on top of the power lines and my privacy fence in the backyard. We waited many days for the power company to come and remove the tree so they could restore power. As soon as they were done the neighbors behind me started throwing large limbs blindly over my fence. I asked them to stop and they yelled at me that it was my tree. Is this illegal? I would like to send them a cease and desist letter if so.
A:
No, it is not illegal.
If the branches fell into their yard from your tree, one would think that you would have promptly made arrangements to have the large limbs removed from their yard. Sending a cease and desist letter for something so trivial likely would heighten, rather than lessen, the hostility with your neighbor. My recommendation is for you to apologize and make arrangements to remove any remaining limbs from their yard and find out if they sustained any damage you need to report to your insurance company or compensate them for.
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