Runaway fence

[Rosie.]

A friend of mine had her garden fence blown down by the windy weather last week. She had been away at the time and arrived home to find a letter from a neighbour claiming �134 damage to her car caused by my friend's fence falling on it. In it she claimed that the fences were 'not properly maintained' and therefore she believed my friend was negligent. My friend is now wondering if she is liable for this. The fences were fine & in good order (before the wind) but her home insurance company won't pay for new fences or for the damage to the neighbour's car. Where does she stand?

[almcd007]

Her buildings insurance should have some public liability third party cover which often covers her in this instance. I know fence panels are not usually covered as I've been down that route before. It doesn't usually matter how much you maintain them - if the wind is strong enough it will knock them down. At the end of the day you have car insurance for such things - she may be able to claim without losing her NCB if she has it prtected. Otherwise it's up to her to sue your fiend in the small claims court.

[joko]

i would suggest getting a professional to check the damage and confirm it is consistent with a fence falling on it.

she could have damages the car some other way and used this as an excuse to get the bill paid for her.

[Gmcd01]

If you can show the fence was in a reasonably good order and was in no foreseeable danger of falling down, then under negligence, your friend has a defence of 'act of God', in that it was the act of nature causing a fence that was otherwise secure to topple. A good read as a starting point are the cases of the Rylands v Fletcher (The escape principle) and Perry v Kendricks Transport.

[Rosie.]

Thanks chaps, I'll pass these comments on