Bill proposes making property owners liable for damages from fallen trees

Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. If a bill under consideration in the current legislative session comes to fruition, property owners would be held responsible and liable for damages caused by their trees and shrubs on adjoining properties. House Bill 599, dubbed the “Fallen Tree Act,” was introduced by Republican Representative Nan Cobb of District 26, which includes most of inland Collier County and the northwestern suburbs of Miami. Per the bill, trees and shrubs pose the potential to cause costly damage to adjacent properties, given the state’s population growth during the past half century. And especially as much of the growth has occurred in neighborhoods with residences