Legal question concerning responsibility (driveway/rocks)

[CorCentral]

Ok I have a driveway at my house that's made up of loose white rock & it runs out to the main st. Not a real busy street but one nonetheless .
My neighbor is an old bastard that loves to make trouble . You know the kind that complain about the leaves from the trees in your yard falling on thier yard ?

He just told me that if he ever drove down the road & one of those rocks causes any dmg. to his vehicle while passing my place, that he's going to sue me for the damages .

Is he blowing smoke or do I have to keep an eye on me stones ?

 

[Vette73]

If that many are getting in the road then yes you can be held accountable for any damage they cause. And now that he has made ot aware to you that they are there, you have no real defense.

Why not put up a divider so they don;t get out of the yard? No loose rocks no problems

 

[PingSpike]

Throw a brick through his windshield and sleep with his wife. If you're going to get in trouble, you might as well have a good time doing it.

 

[CorCentral]

Well I suppose for defense I'll take pics today of the end of the driveway , & snap a few shots after I fix it .
I'll leave about 4ft at the end with no rock but instead have 12x12 blocks to drive on . That should do it .

 

[Narse]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Throw a brick through his windshield and sleep with his wife. If you're going to get in trouble, you might as well have a good time doing it.

LOL

 

[NogginBoink]

In the United States, anyone can sue anyone for anything. Especially old codgers with nothing better to do and a chip on your shoulder.

So yes, he can absolutely sue you.

Whether or not he can win is another matter.

IANAL, but as I understand it, he'd have to demonstrate that you're liable for the damage caused by the rock. I think that'd be pretty hard to do. Can he prove that the damage came from a rock that came from your driveway? Etc.

My opinion: Blow him a kiss and ignore him.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Throw a brick through his windshield and sleep with his wife. If you're going to get in trouble, you might as well have a good time doing it.

Hahaha...10/10

 

[InverseOfNeo]

Originally posted by: CorCentral
Well I suppose for defense I'll take pics today of the end of the driveway , & snap a few shots after I fix it .
I'll leave about 4ft at the end with no rock but instead have 12x12 blocks to drive on . That should do it .

That might do it. People like that suck anyway. He'll be gone soon anyway

 

[arcas]

Escalate. Scrutinze his yard, his actions or even his car for liabilities. Dig through city ordinances and your neighborhood restrictions (if any) and file anonymous complaints. It could be as simple as him not having his street trees trimmed sufficiently or he might have an underground lawn sprinkler installed too close to the city sidewalk. Whatever. Build a list and be prepared to act on it.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: NogginBoink
In the United States, anyone can sue anyone for anything. Especially old codgers with nothing better to do and a chip on your shoulder.

So yes, he can absolutely sue you.

Whether or not he can win is another matter.

IANAL, but as I understand it, he'd have to demonstrate that you're liable for the damage caused by the rock. I think that'd be pretty hard to do. Can he prove that the damage came from a rock that came from your driveway? Etc.

My opinion: Blow him a kiss and ignore him.

Right he can sue but doubtfull he can win. He would have to prove that the rock from your yard/driveway did the damage. that would be very hard to do.