Florida bill would shift responsibility when a tree falls on a neighbor’s home

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida has a lot of hurricanes and even more trees.

But if your neighbor’s tree falls on your house, you could be responsible for the damage.

It’s called the Massachusetts rule, and State Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers) believes it’s outlived its usefulness.

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“This Massachusetts Rule is hundreds of years old, and it was put in place back when everyone lived on farms. Nobody had houses on their property lines and if a tree fell on your property, that was free wood,” said Martin during a committee hearing in early April.

Martin is sponsoring legislation that would make homeowners responsible for damage caused by trees on their property.

Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute argues the “Fallen Tree Act” would more or less codify what courts have already held in litigation involving trees falling on neighbors’ homes.

“Courts in Florida have typically ruled in favor of the impacted homeowner. Meaning, they have ruled that the party responsible for the tree must pay the damages,” said Friedlander.

But the idea got some pushback in its first committee stop.

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George Feijoo with the Florida Insurance Council expressed concern over the lack of distinction between healthy and unhealthy trees.

“We’re particularly concerned that the bill will lead to increased litigation specifically between neighbors, which is not sound public policy to incentivize, in our opinion,” said Feijoo.

But Martin argued neighbors are already suing each other, and clarifying who is liable would only stand to reduce litigation.

“This is a solution to a problem that will bring down insurance costs and it’ll keep our communities safer during hurricanes and shortly after hurricanes,” said Martin.

The bill still has two more committee stops in both chambers.

With only three weeks left in session, it seems the Fallen Tree Act may be falling on deaf ears.

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