References: Unreported, 10 November 2006
Coram: HHJ Simpson QC
Mayor’s and City of London Court – the defendant was an ordinary landowner who owned a tree by a road. A heavy branch fell onto a passing car. There was a crack at the junction of the stem of the branch, and the claimant’s case was that this should have been identified and the branch should have been lopped. The defendant said that the crack could not have been seen on a roadside inspection or even on a more detailed inspection and that the tree was in visibly good health.
Held: The judge rejected the claim. The defendant carried out informal observations of the tree on an ongoing basis and all the evidence was that the tree was in good health. There was nothing about the tree which should have alerted the defendant or led him to obtain a more detailed inspection by an arboriculturalist.
This case is cited by:
- Cited – Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd -v- Hind and Another TCC (Bailii, [2014] EWHC 1891 (TCC))
A train crash was caused when an ash tree fell from the defendant’s land across the railway line. The company sought damages from the land-owner.
Held: The land-owner’s duty extended no further than the carrying out of periodic informal or . .
