'Massive boom!': What to do if neighbor's tree falls on your house, yet insurance denies your claim?

"Your neighbor's tree topples your house -- who's responsible for the bill? What should you do if their insurance claims it's not their problem? As the Bay Area braces for the incoming atmospheric river, we have an important warning for homeowners. This case can happen to any of us. It turned into a months-long dispute that wasn't resolved until 7 On Your Side's Stephanie Sierra and our team got involved."

"'I was jolted out of bed. to a huge crash. I thought it was going to come through the house,' Angela Bereola said. A year ago this week -- in the midst of heavy rain and 36 mile-per-hour winds -- a massive oak tree fell and damaged Bereola's Castro Valley home. 'I couldn't see into the backyard. Our whole back of the house went dark,' she said. This 100-year-old tree was on the other side of her fence, rooted in the grounds of the Hayward Unified School District."

"The damage to her home was estimated to be $70,600.83, according to a third-party estimate. And that didn't include damages caused when the tree was removed. Bereola said her insurance adjuster only offered to cover just over a quarter of that cost -- $19,200.86, leaving her on the hook for $51,399.97. 'This isn't fair,' Bereola said. 'It wasn't like we were doing something that caused the tree to fall.' Bereola said after months of back and forth with the school district's insurance authority, her claim was denied."

A 100-year-old oak on Hayward Unified School District property fell during heavy rain and 36 mile-per-hour winds, causing major damage to a neighboring Castro Valley home. A third-party estimate placed the damage at $70,600.83, excluding removal costs. The homeowner's insurer offered $19,200.86, leaving $51,399.97 unpaid. The school district's insurance authority denied liability after months of back-and-forth. The dispute persisted for months and required consumer advocacy intervention to seek resolution. Homeowners adjacent to large, aging trees face significant financial exposure when nearby trees fail during storms and liability is contested.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco