Generally, you would not ordinarily be responsible for an act of God. That is, a hurricane knocking down your tree onto the neighbor's house.

However, there is an important exception. If you have prior knowledge that the tree is a hazard and you take no steps to correct the situation, then you could be liable. The settlement with the insurance company would just be proof that you had knowledge.

PS: If the landlord does follow through without court orders, your friend's daughter will have an excellent suit for damages.

Eviction procedure:

First, a five day notice to vacate has to be posted on the tenant's door or delivered to the tenant. Be advised that most leases waive this requirement.

Second, an eviction procedure has to be filed. This can be in city, small claims, district or justice of the peace courts.

A hearing has to be had. Prior to the hearing, the tenant has to file a response with any affirmative defenses.

So, short answer is that it would appear that some or all of this has not taken place.

Non-legal response: the landlord is a total jerk.

Here's what happened when our cat tried to jump into the freezer just as someone was slamming the door. Another Gustav casualty.

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Local papers say that Gustav has produced 4 times more debris from wind damage than Katrina. So, both storms worse than Andrew. The worry now is that there are curbside stacks of missiles to worry about in case Ike comes this way. Baton Rouge still only has 50% of power restored. The rural areas around BR are much worse. I think I heard that St. James parish had 0% power restored.

Lex,

How did Gustav compare to Andrew (1992)? More damage? i remember Andrew doing a number on Baton Rouge also.

me. I figured you meant to your own personal peace of mind and private stash of beef jerky and toilet paper......we're all human and I for one guage impact on how it affects us and our area and domain.

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When I said Gustav did more damage I was speaking specifically of Baton Rouge only.

i was in a very crowded Burger King several years ago when i accidently stepped on a packet of ketchup. it made a loud "POP" sound and the ketchup hit a lady square in the chest. It made for a very tense moment in the place before we all realized what happened. even i thought the lady had been shot until i saw the pack under my shoe. then i was just embarassed ... and neither one of us are blond

It's a matter of perspective.

Katrina put 11 feet of water in my home, i lost everything. It was well over a year before i could find a new place to live down here (St. Bernard Parish) and the parish as a whole will never be the same. (BTW, it took about 6 weeks after Katrina to get power back to the area i'm in now). to other areas of the state (heck, even the Metro New Orleans are) Katrina was an inconvenience.

For Gustav I spent the first 2 days doing volunteer work on the north shore, spent 3 nights at the office sleeping on the floor in the conference room, and power returned to the house this afternoon. Gustav was just an inconvenience to me.

I feel for you Lex, been there, done that. it gets better with time.