An Abbotsford man won’t be getting any compensation from the city after he claimed a tree destroyed his trampoline.
In a March 19 decision, B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal vice-chair Eric Regehr said that a large tree on city land fell onto John Camarda’s property on Nov. 6, 2022, damaging a fence and destroying a trampoline.
Camarda wanted the City of Abbotsford to pay for fence repairs and to replace the trampoline. He also wanted to be reimbursed $5,000 for the cost of a chainsaw bought to clean up the debris.
Abbotsford denied any responsibility for the damage.
Regehr said there was little dispute over the situation’s basic facts.
“Wind blew a large tree down,” Regehr said. “It landed squarely on the applicant’s trampoline, crushing it and a portion of a fence beside it.”
Regehr said Camarda reported the incident to the city, which refused to compensate him for the damage.
Regehr heard from the city that Abbotsford has hundreds of thousands of trees, but only proactively monitors about 13,000.
“Abbotsford proactively monitors trees generally because of past incidents or when its staff identify areas of increased risk. After Nov. 6, 2022, staff assessed the trees in the area above the applicant’s house and removed five more,” he said.
An employee told the tribunal there had been no reports of problem trees before the incident.
Regehr found the city owed Camarda no duty of care.
“There is also no evidence that Abbotsford failed to properly implement the policy in its handling of the tree. I therefore find that Abbotsford is not liable in negligence for the fallen tree,” he said.
Regehr also found any complaint of nuisance was not borne out.
“There is no evidence here that anyone had complained about the tree or that there had been previous trees falling in the area,” Regehr said. “So, Abbotsford did not know and had no reason to know that the tree might fall. This means Abbotsford is not liable in nuisance.”
As such, he dismissed Camarda’s claims
