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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Neighbour taking friend to court

314 replies

Clappingforjoy · 17/01/2020 10:30

My friend had a fire in his garden last April and it caused damage to some neighbouring gardens especially the one neighbour. My friend didn't and still doesnt know how it started so that remains a mystery and the fire brigade could only say that it started in our garden but they didnt know how.
Now several months later we have been made aware that the neighbour that suffered the most damage is taking him to court and is getting all the others on his side and got witness statements off them and gave them to his solicitor to say my friend was burning rubbish the day before he denies this and says the only thing he did was get a weed burner out from his shed st the side of the house and take it to the front garden to burn weeds then he put it back ensuring it was out.
After this he went out and on arriving home abt an hour later the fire had already started way at the bottom of the garden far from the side shed.
His son was there and had noticed the fire from his bedroom window and had already called the fire brigade.
All neighbours have since few months ago had all repairs done so I can only think they are claiming for thier excess.
What should he do friend is dismissing saying he is totally innocent and despite the fact he has a burner he hadnt used it for several weeks but claims he has smelt burning before from somebody else's garden in the past and there is no proof of anything except probably some made up statements from neighbours trying to get money.

OP posts:
Drabarni · 17/01/2020 14:35

The fire report will say how and where it started.

CoolcoolcoolcoolcoolNoDoubt · 17/01/2020 14:37

Why does the OP keep mentioning a cat? Grin

Durgasarrow · 17/01/2020 14:37

Solar panel be damned, the sun is constantly hurling fireballs into British gardens.

YasssKween · 17/01/2020 14:38

@HopeItComesWithBatteries

I was hoping someone else was having palpitations about the fish tank situation. Don't know if it's worse if it's the same bloke or another one - home calamities aplenty! Grin

winewolfhowls · 17/01/2020 14:43

Wait a minute, It was actually...

The cat
In the garden
With the solar panel

thecatfromjapan · 17/01/2020 14:43

What's the fish tank situation?

(Suspect it didn't end well for the fish.)

WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles · 17/01/2020 14:49

"the fire brigade could only say that it started in our garden but they didnt know how."

This has to be THE BEST "asking for a friend" ever - OP fucked it up in the second sentence Grin

Also, I once superglued my hand to a shelf. I had been supergluing an ornament earlier, but still it wasn't my fault, it was because my neighbours had a tube of Pritt Stick in their house.

Sorry, I mean my friend superglued their hand

WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles · 17/01/2020 14:51

TELL US ABOUT THE FISHTANK

Hazelnutlatteplease · 17/01/2020 14:52

@DowntownAbby

Oooo ok actually apologies i do see where you are going.

But i dont think its relevent to the OPs circumstances. But again the only people who can answer for certain are the OPs friend's insurance company.

Ive said it from my first post the OP's friend needs to contact their insurance company

ZebrasAreHorsesInPyjamas · 17/01/2020 14:59

Just for clarification, what exactly was damaged by the fire, your ex-boyfriend's and the neighbours? Fence, shed, outhouse, house? How many neighbours were affected?

Getitwright · 17/01/2020 15:06

I want to sue the OP......for new underwear. I am peeing myself laughing at this thread.

Apologies for being rather heartless, but just how unfortunate/naive/hapless/other worldly can this get?

Could Frank Spencer be on MN?😂

Ferretyone · 17/01/2020 15:06

@JasonPollack

Tsk tsk!

Shock
ProfessorSlocombe · 17/01/2020 15:11

Could Frank Spencer be on MN?

Showing your age there Getitwright Grin

I must confess another thing I got wrong was the continued existence of this thread. Usually when a discussion goes so spectacularly wrong we end up with a blank header and a bland message about the "OPs concerns" or somesuch hogwash.

That said, I will be super surprised if it lasts the weekend.

Getitwright · 17/01/2020 15:14

@ProfessorSlowcombe.......they do show repeats on TVGrin

m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWPBj4xiNRk

ProfessorSlocombe · 17/01/2020 15:16

ProfessorSlocombe.......they do show repeats on TV

In fact that's all they show Grin

Have I complained about modern music yet ?

safariboot · 17/01/2020 15:18

The defendant needs legal advice and representation.

To be honest, given the defendant is known to burn weeds and rubbish, and given a bunch of witnesses claiming they saw burning on the relevant date, the defence is going to be very weak. I think most lawyers in this case would recommend settling out of court.

If there's a liability component on the insurance that ought to pay out.

AHappyFox · 17/01/2020 15:34

Possibly a far stretch, but...
Perhaps the son was having a sneaky smoke from his bedroom window?
One of OP’s comments mentioned neither they nor the ‘friend’ smoked and the son who was 18 happened to be the one who noticed the fire.
Maybe he didn’t want his dad/you to know he was smoking for some reason?
Teenagers can be sneaky in clever ways and perhaps he thought the neighbour who smokes outdoors would be a good cover to divert blame from himself?
If he didn’t want either of you to know he was smoking, he would have even more motive to not disclose - thus making the origin of the fire even more mysterious.
A wild idea to add to this but worth considering 🤷🏻‍♀️Grin

Agreeing with most other commenters though, it is very coincidental that he happened to be using a burning device on the same day that a fire started.
The smoking neighbour could have started it either, accidentally or purposefully, although the point now isn’t to determine the cause. The fire happened, the Fire Service have issued their statement and it was on your friends property. Whether or not he believes he’s liable is irrelevant, he needs to contact his insurance and sort it out once and for all and he needs to be more mindful of things like this in future.

GladAllOver · 17/01/2020 15:47

It is entirely irrelevant why the fire started.
All that matters is that it started on your property and spread to others. So it's down to your insurance, if you had some.

GiveHerHellFromUs · 17/01/2020 15:48

@AHappyFox not that far of a stretch considering the alternatives OP offered up

AHappyFox · 17/01/2020 15:56

@GiveHerHellFromUs OP did offer a rather interesting array of vague and far fetched theories! Grin😆

Cheeseandwin5 · 17/01/2020 16:10

I have some sympathy for you.
But at the end of the day, the facts are simple- that being the fire started in your garden ( per the Fire Brigades report). The rest is all assumption. You maybe completely innocent butnless you can prove that it started due to the fault of someone else than you are sadly not going to win.
I am not read about why court action is warranted (apologies if this has been explained) but I would have let the insurance companies sort it out from the get go. If it goes to court the costs will spiral for you and potentially others.

MusterMark · 17/01/2020 17:04

"I have a tree in my garden. If a branch comes down and goes through the neighbour's shed roof I am liable. " As I understand it (NAL) this is not necessarily so. If the tree is sound but a high wind blows the branch down this is an act of God and you would not be liable. The neighbour's insurance (if any) would pay. If on the other hand, the tree was clearly rotting and this had been brought to your attention, then you would be liable.

DowntownAbby · 17/01/2020 17:13

@Hazelnutlatteplease no need to apologise!

But yes, the friend needs to take legal advice if his insurer sidesteps it.

Maybe the insurer will sort it, who knows...

ProfessorSlocombe · 17/01/2020 17:18

"I have a tree in my garden. If a branch comes down and goes through the neighbour's shed roof I am liable. " As I understand it (NAL) this is not necessarily so. If the tree is sound but a high wind blows the branch down this is an act of God and you would not be liable. The neighbour's insurance (if any) would pay. If on the other hand, the tree was clearly rotting and this had been brought to your attention, then you would be liable

Birmingham Council was found negligent a few years ago after a poorly maintained tree came down in a high wind killing a poor lady. They were judicially torn a new one for completely and utterly inspecting and cutting back/down trees. The incident prompted a big overhaul, and on a recent visit I was pleased to see that not only does every tree and piece of street furniture have a registration, but there are teams that go around inspecting and logging details. (I thought for a second the chap with a handset was going to ticket me, despite me being parked OK. But when I asked I had the backstory ....)

DowntownAbby · 17/01/2020 17:18

That's right, @MusterMark

It's almost the opposite of what many people think, isn't it.

If you have been negligent in maintaining your tree/property the insurer (should) cover the 3rd party damage. If you haven't been negligent, they (probably) won't cover 3rd party damage.