Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My neighbor, Butch, suffered damage when the tree fell. See previous blog entry. I had submitted bills to the city for the damage done to my property. Butch did not. I felt the city was responsible , as there were two previous warnings to the city that there was something wrong with that old tree. My claim was denied. I filed in small claims court.
Butch came with me to testify if needed. I was astounded at so many people that came from the city. There were two attorneys, the claims clerk and the city's tree warden. How much salary times the time spent in court is this costing the city? and by extension, the taxpayer? My claim was for under $2,000. Surely the wasted salary sitting there was much more.
In the end, I won. I got the cost of filing back and the cost of replacing the weather vane that the city destroyed when it pulled branches off the roof of the garage. I forgot to mention the pear tree they pulled up. I was not reimbursed for the rest....which was a considerable expense to the garage and lawn. The judge ruled the tree falling was an act of nature...ignoring the two warnings.... I did not submit bills for the sidewalk, as I know that maintaining the sidewalk is the home owner's responsibility. Add this experience to my experience with courts in New Jersey and Connecticut for my mother's care. The result is that I have lost confidence in the system, especially attorneys who seem to have sold their soul for money. That's another story. At least Butch saves the cost of filing by watching my experience.

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