Title: February 6, 2008
Q. I was driving on a rural road and I hit a patch of ice, ending up in someone’s fence. I damaged the fence so much that the cattle in the field could easily get out through the hole in the fence and spill out onto the road. What if someone hits the cattle, am I responsible for the ensuing damage?
A. Yes, you are responsible if the fence is not repaired as soon as possible and the cattle does get out and cause an accident. You will also be responsible for lost cattle, for the repair of the fence and anything else that happens as a result of your mishap. Those are the reasons why you must carry insurance. Of course, aside from your insurance company, you must also notify the property owner that you damaged his fence so that he can take the steps necessary to reign in his cattle. You must ensure that you do everything in your power to repair the damage you caused as soon as possible so as to not compound the consequences of your actions. The less consequences will cost less.
Q. My neighbor has a very big tree right between our houses. With all the snow we’ve had in the past week, a branch from the tree broke and fell on my garage. Not only is the roof of my garage damaged, I can’t use my garage at all right now because the garage door won’t open and close due to the damaged roof. The roof is hanging down, stopping the door from moving up or down. My neighbor does not live in that house during the winter. He lives somewhere in Los Angeles but I don’t have his phone number and I don’t know how to reach him. What do I do?
A. Now you understand why one should always get along with the neighbors and know how to reach them should something bad happens. First, call your insurance company. They will take the steps necessary to find out who owns the house next door, and get in touch with the owner, wherever he/she lives. Your insurance will subrogate the claim, i.e. make a claim against your neighbor’s insurance because it is your neighbor’s responsibility to take care of his property all year round, not just during the summer. It is difficult to deal with an owner in absentia, but not impossible. Good luck!
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 15 years of experience. She practices law from her Tehachapi office as well as her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers to the best of her abilities. Email your questions to maxinedev@msn.com or fax to (661) 825-8880
Showing posts with label cattle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cattle. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Legal Eaze #12 Cattle Snow/ Abusive Husband
Originally Printed: December 29, 2004
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her home office in Alpine Forest, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com.
Q. We normally have snow by now. I have acres of land on a slope and located where it is easy for children to invade my property to snow play. Last year, kids damaged my fence and a few cattle got out. Although I repaired the fence and managed to get all my cattle back, how do I avoid a repeat this year?
A. Short of building a high fence around your property and placing signs in various strategic places, as well as standing around to shoo away any trespassers, it might be difficult to stop children from coming onto your property to play. The combination “slope and snow” is what we call an “attractive nuisance” in legal terms. You may even be held responsible if a kid gets hurt on your property. I remember last year, Kern County sheriffs were stopping people from going up to Alpine Forest for that very reason. It is unfortunate that there are insufficient parking spaces at Tehachapi Mountain Park for these families to go up there to play and leave surrounding private properties intact. Just make sure that you have your fence up and have “no trespassing” signs at various locations in order to discourage the invaders as well as potential lawsuits should injuries occur on your land. Keep an eye out to ensure your fence does not get damaged again and write down the license plate number of the vehicles that brought the “destroyers”. It is an excellent way to track down the parents of those children that cause damage to your property and hold them responsible.
Q. My husband drinks a lot and becomes abusive and violent. This is a time of the year where a lot of people are drinking and he thinks this validates an increase in the number of drinks he can have. I fear for myself and my children during the holidays. It is worse than at any other times. What should I do?
A. I am sorry that the holidays are an unhappy time of the year for you. If your husband does not realize how he is harming his family by his heavy drinking, it may be time for you to seek refuge elsewhere. Do you have family or a friend that you can go visit, taking your children with you? By removing yourself and your children from you home, you remove the temptation for your husband to abuse you. It is difficult to decide to leave your husband now, but once you put some distance between and the abuser, you may have a clearer view of your situation. I wish you the wisdom to make the right decision.
Maxine de Villefranche is an attorney and civil general practitioner with 12 years of experience. She operates her law practice from her home office in Alpine Forest, as well her Lancaster satellite office. She will answer legal questions posed to her by the readers, to the best of her abilities. Please forward your questions to maxinedev@msn.com.
Q. We normally have snow by now. I have acres of land on a slope and located where it is easy for children to invade my property to snow play. Last year, kids damaged my fence and a few cattle got out. Although I repaired the fence and managed to get all my cattle back, how do I avoid a repeat this year?
A. Short of building a high fence around your property and placing signs in various strategic places, as well as standing around to shoo away any trespassers, it might be difficult to stop children from coming onto your property to play. The combination “slope and snow” is what we call an “attractive nuisance” in legal terms. You may even be held responsible if a kid gets hurt on your property. I remember last year, Kern County sheriffs were stopping people from going up to Alpine Forest for that very reason. It is unfortunate that there are insufficient parking spaces at Tehachapi Mountain Park for these families to go up there to play and leave surrounding private properties intact. Just make sure that you have your fence up and have “no trespassing” signs at various locations in order to discourage the invaders as well as potential lawsuits should injuries occur on your land. Keep an eye out to ensure your fence does not get damaged again and write down the license plate number of the vehicles that brought the “destroyers”. It is an excellent way to track down the parents of those children that cause damage to your property and hold them responsible.
Q. My husband drinks a lot and becomes abusive and violent. This is a time of the year where a lot of people are drinking and he thinks this validates an increase in the number of drinks he can have. I fear for myself and my children during the holidays. It is worse than at any other times. What should I do?
A. I am sorry that the holidays are an unhappy time of the year for you. If your husband does not realize how he is harming his family by his heavy drinking, it may be time for you to seek refuge elsewhere. Do you have family or a friend that you can go visit, taking your children with you? By removing yourself and your children from you home, you remove the temptation for your husband to abuse you. It is difficult to decide to leave your husband now, but once you put some distance between and the abuser, you may have a clearer view of your situation. I wish you the wisdom to make the right decision.
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