Who is liable for any injury sustained by a pedestrian in a trip and fall incident on these damaged sidewalks-the homeowner who paid for sidewalk repairs and the root pruning through his or her annual assessments, or the HOA that collected these funds but failed to effectuate the repairs?
As a result, some of the sidewalks are in terrible condition. Although the association has collected these sidewalk repair funds over the years, for whatever reason, the HOA has failed to make repairs or prune the roots, and it has retained the funds as surplus.
Now for the "negligence/liability" issue. The HOA has taken over the sidewalk repairs to obtain the best price from a licensed and insured contractor and to ensure any root pruning will be professionally completed. In some areas the sidewalks are raised by several inches, creating a trip and fall hazard. In a recent column you wrote that it was highly unlikely that an association would be held liable for damage caused by its failure to trim tree roots.įor the past five years my association, in the annual budget, has collected funds allocated to "sidewalk repairs.” The sidewalk repairs are necessary and caused by the root incursion from 35 to 40-year-old live oak trees along the swale in front of our homes.
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