Confused After Neighbor’s Tree Destroyed My Fence In The Middle Of The Night

location: oregon

Last week around three in the morning I woke up to a crack that sounded like a car hitting the house. When I went outside with a flashlight I found that my neighbor’s giant fir tree had split near the base and fallen straight across my backyard. The trunk crushed about fifteen feet of my wooden fence and landed partially on my shed. The shed roof is dented but not completely destroyed, and thankfully no one was hurt.

My neighbor came outside later that morning and seemed surprised. He said he knew the tree leaned a little but didn’t think it was dangerous. I had never complained about it because I honestly didn’t think much of it either. Since then he’s been avoiding me. He has not offered to clean up the tree or talk about repairs. The fallen tree is still lying across my fence and part of it is now blocking my dog from getting to the rest of the yard.

I called my homeowners insurance and they told me they would send someone to look at the damage but that responsibility might depend on whether the neighbor knew the tree was unsafe before it fell. They said I might need to talk to him directly or possibly look into small claims if he refuses to deal with it. I am not trying to sue anyone but I don’t think I should be stuck paying to remove and dispose of his tree.

My legal question is whether under Oregon law the neighbor is responsible for removing the tree and paying for the fence damage when the tree fell from his yard without any storm or act of nature that would excuse it.