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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5598
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 1575
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING A PROPERTY OWNER'S LIA BILITY FOR THE
EXPENSES OF REMOVING A FALLEN TREE OR LIMB.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2021) (a) If a tree located on 1
private real property, or a limb from such tree, falls on an adjoining 2
private property owner's land, the owner of the private real property 3
from which such tree or limb fell shall be presumed liable for the 4
expenses of removing such tree or limb from such adjoining private 5
property owner's land, if, prior to such tree or limb falling: (1) An 6
arborist inspected the tree and documented that the tree or limb was 7
diseased, decayed or damaged and likely to fall within five years of the 8
date of such inspection; (2) the adjoining private property owner 9
provided written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to 10
the owner of the real property from which such tree or limb fell that the 11
tree or limb was diseased, decayed or damaged and likely to fall within 12
five years of the date of such inspection and requested that the condition 13
be cured by removal, pruning, spraying or any other appropriate 14
method; and (3) the owner of the private real property from which such 15 Raised Bill No. 5598
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tree or limb fell failed to cure the condition by removal, pruning, 16
spraying or any other appropriate method within ninety days of the 17
date of receiving such written notice. No property owner shall be 18
required to provide access to his or her property for inspection by an 19
arborist. An arborist's inability to access property for such inspection 20
shall not waive the requirement of this subsection that an arborist make 21
a determination that a tree or limb is diseased, decayed or damaged and 22
likely to fall within five years of the date of such inspection. Written 23
notice provided by a private property owner pursuant to this subsection 24
shall be deemed personal to the particular owner providing such notice 25
and shall not run with the land. 26
(b) The presumption in subsection (a) of this section may be rebutted 27
upon a showing that: (1) After notice was given as described in 28
subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, an arborist inspected the 29
tree or limb and documented that the tree or limb was not diseased, 30
decayed or damaged and likely to fall; or (2) such tree or limb fell due 31
to a reason other than the condition described in such notice, including, 32
but not limited to, a motor vehicle collision, fire, lightning strike or other 33
act of God. 34
(c) The provisions of this section shall not affect any rights of a 35
policyholder under a liability insurance policy, except that the insurance 36
company that issued such insurance policy may deduct from any 37
amount owed to such insured for a covered loss arising from such tree 38
or limb falling, the amount recovered by the policyholder pursuant to 39
subsection (a) of this section, to the extent that such amount would have 40
been a covered loss under such insurance policy. 41
(d) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit any 42
person's right to pursue any additional civil remedy otherwise allowed 43
by law. 44
(e) As used in this section (1) "private real property" does not include: 45
(A) Real property owned by a political subdivision of the state, a water 46
company, as defined in section 25-32a of the general statutes, or a 47 Raised Bill No. 5598
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nonprofit organization qualified as a tax-exempt organization under 48
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any 49
subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, 50
as amended from time to time; (B) real property that is subject to a 51
conservation easement held by such nonprofit organization; (C) timber 52
land, as described in section 12-97 of the general statutes; or (D) farm 53
land, forest land or open space land, as such terms are defined in section 54
12-107b of the general statutes; and (2) "arborist" has the same meaning 55
as provided in section 23-61a of the general statutes. 56
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2021 New section
JUD Joint Favorable