'This has been a nightmare': When a healthy tree fell from two women's yard during a storm and damaged neighbor’s shed, the uninsured neighbor demanded they pay $5,500 for the damage, suing them when they refused, despite laws claiming they aren't liable

Author image for Emma Saven
Emma Saven
Oct 26, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

We've never claimed to be lawyers and our advice is often times more of a 'suggestion' than based on facts…But from what we do understand from this story is that these two women have been placed in a very complicated, very unfair episode of Neighborhood Drama. During an intense and damaging storm, a tree from their backyard ended up falling onto their neighbor's property, damaging his shed. They kindly addressed the situation by asking for insurance, but were met with an aggressive reaction. He claimed he didn't have insurance and threw a bunch of random numbers at them, demanding they pay for the damage. 

However, unless they called up Mother Nature and asked her to purposefully sabotage his shed (which is what he seems to think), it's not truly their fault, nor is the fact that he doesn't have a proper insurance plan. So they refuse…a decision that makes things x100 more complicated, as he took the requested number, doubled it, and began the process of suing these poor women! How could someone be that dramatic…? Either he really needs the money or is just an extremely difficult human. 

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  • So let this be a lesson to try your best to avoid unreasonable and spiteful neighbors or to pick a state that is not as prone to storms…Either way, it seems like one giant mess, that we hope these girls can find their way out of! If they have the means, our best advice would be to get legal help in order to better understand their rights! 

  • 01
    Neighbors having a disagreement
    via gettyimages

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    Neighbor doesn’t have insurance so sued us over replacing shed

    Let me go ahead and say thanks to anybody that reads and responds to this. There's a lot of context and story to get where we are currently with the situation.
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  • 03
    Basically, a tree in our yard fell and damaged the back neighbor's shed after weeks of rain and storms.
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  • 04
    We went to the door and there was no answer. A couple hours later a company vehicle with 6- 7 men (for context, my roommate and I are both single women) show up and one guy says he owns the house in the back.
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  • 05
    We allow him to look at the damage and the whole crew all comes into our yard.
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  • 06
    It felt a bit weird but we just let it go. Anyways, We offered to help clear it or even pay to have the tree parts removed but then he said started saying we would have to replace the shed.
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  • 07
    Having little experience with this, we said we need to get more info. We then learned that the shed damage would actually be the homeowner's responsibility.
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  • 08
    We waited a bit and reached out but heard nothing for a few weeks. Obviously we don't want to trespass on their property so we waited and left messages.
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  • 09
    (The neighbor with the shed rents out the house so we couldn't get a hold of him and never saw him).
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  • 10
    A couple weeks later he shows up at our door around 9 pm stating that he will have the tree cleaned up but we need to pay to replace his shed which will be $3,500.
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  • 11
    A tree that's fallen onto a barn
    via ungvar

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 12
    We told him we couldn't do that and that he should call his insurance. At this point he says he doesn't have insurance and that if we don't pay "he'll have to sue." I don't understand a lot about suing people, but I'm confused that he can sue us when the law doesn't even say we are liable.
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  • 13
    The tree was not dead or damaged to our knowledge. I know if that wasn't the case this would be different.
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  • 14
    So, now, we have been sued, technically but not yet served the actual claim, but bc of an attorney mailer, learned that he is claiming "damage to shed" and suing us for $5,500ish.
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  • 15
    There are so many crazy things about the whole situation, and the actual price he is suing for is absurd considering the shed is still standing and they still use it.
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  • 16
    There is damage to the back corner and the roof. On the document he filed there is not even mention that the damage is from a tree falling.
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  • 17
    I also happen to know that he built the shed with a few other guys so his "labor" cost of 3,000 feels like a stretch.
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  • 18
    He also already has a ton of the exact metal material used to build the shed that has been in the backyard for months (since the built the shed) an he TOLD ME that it was "leftover from a jobsite." So that whole part irks me bc he is literally lying about having to buy stuff... Any advice on how to manage this when we do actually get served?
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  • 19
    Maybe I'm naive but it seems wild to me that you can sue someone for literally any reason.
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  • 20
    Insurance policy
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    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 21
    This has been a nightmare. He said initially when he started to threaten to sue that he wouldn't take less than $3,500 so we really didn't have an option to work it out with him.
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  • 22
    And he was somewhat hostile and almost threatening in that convo so we really are kind of stuck.
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  • 23
    Grimaldehyde It is his choice to not have insurance. The fact that he doesn't have insurance, doesn't change the fact that the damage on his property is his responsibility. Does he think that everyone else pays for insurance, so he doesn't have to?
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  • 24
    OP SampleExternal4509 That's kinda how it seems at this point...
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  • 25
    Grimaldehyde Something similar happened to my parents when a neighbor's tree fell on the house. The tree belonged to the neighbor when it was standing, and belonged to my parents when it fell onto their house. In other words, the damage was my parents' responsibility to pay for. They had insurance; not sure why a person would choose not to have insurance for such occasions.
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  • 26
    OP SampleExternal4509 I agree and actually that's how I learned how it works. My parents were in Augusta, ga which was hit by hurricane Helene and used their insurance to cover all the (major) damage done to their house even though many of the trees that fell were neighbors. The situation feel crappy bc it seems that he basically tried to threaten us to pay him money and when we couldn't (bc we literally didn't have the amount he wanted) we now will still have to pay money, but I have no clue ho
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  • 27
    Disastrous-Cable-424 You DO NOT contact your homeowner's insurance until you are sure you need it is the advice I have been given
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  • 28
    airckarc This isn't your problem, it's your landlord's problem. And it really isn't their problem unless the shed owner had communicated via registered letter, that the tree was unhealthy and needed removal. Generally, when a tree falls across property lines, each owner is responsible for the clean-up and damage in their own yards. So he can't throw the branches on his side back on to your side. If it was valuable lumber, you couldn't take the tree from his side. Don't talk to the guy again. Giv
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  • 29
    Antique_Way685 GO TAKE GOOD PICTURES OF HIS SHED NOW (if you haven't). He seems to be claiming it's totally destroyed. Make sure you get evidence it's not. Anyone can sue anyone for any thing at any time. Welcome to America. Winning that lawsuit is another story. Just wait til you get served then find an attorney. I usually wouldn't recommend pro se but it might be cheaper to risk having to pay the neighbor than to pay a lawyer.
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  • 30
    alicat777777 He is responsible for anything on his property, not you. It doesn't matter if the trunk of the tree was from your property.
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sue neighbors insurance sheds legal fees neighborhood askreddit neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories horrible-neighbors entitled tree Reddit bed-neighbors fallen entitled people
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