Location: Missouri
Wondering if I have any recourse here. I have lived in my home for 13 years and around 2018, CU started coming around and trimming my trees away from the power lines. In 2020, they agreed to remove the tree entirely and I signed paperwork, but when they got here they changed their minds. They ended up trimming the entire back half of a large sweet gum tree off, I assume so they wouldn’t have to return so frequently. Since they did that, this tree has been dropping huge limbs pretty frequently. It’s clearly weak, maybe dying, because of how much they cut off it. A few years ago I called and reported that what was left of the tree had started leaning and was coming onto my roof, I said I felt they should cut the tree down because the way they trimmed it was killing it and making it a hazard to my home. They said that wasn’t their responsibility, but because they agreed to cut it down and changed their mind, they would send a crew to trim what was falling on my house and they did. There is very little left of the tree now. It’s probably two times taller than my house, with 3 large limbs left. In the recent wind storm that hit the Midwest, a massive limb took down all the power lines in my back yard, splitting the power pole in half, and leaving transformer oil all over my yard. I was out of power 100 hours because it was so difficult for them to fix. I called CU back again to talk with vegetation about taking the tree down because it’s quite hazardous to the lines back here. The guy that came today said they won’t cut it down, but it will likely trim the one branch still hanging over the power line.
I’m assuming there isn’t anything I can do, but wanted to consult here. I feel like they have killed this tree and now I’m left in a dangerous position with a massive tree threatening my house, my neighbors houses, and our weatherheads/house lines. The guy that came today openly agreed the tree has been trimmed back so much it’s not healthy. Shouldn’t they know, as certified arborist, that they were going to kill the tree and create a new problem? Is there any liability for that? Or can CU just do what they need to protect the power line and now if this tree destroys my house I’m just SOL?
Also. Yes, I am getting quotes to have it taken down myself but they are all around $5,000 which I can’t afford right now.