September 22, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

For those of us in HOAs with tall and mature trees, we likely all wince when storms go through the area like they did last night in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. Case in point is a lawsuit that was recently filed against a homeowners association in Portland, Oregon, for a tree that fell and caused a death of one of its residents.

Turns out that an estate representative of the man who died from a fallen tree that landed on the man’s HOA home in Lake Oswego during a 2024 winter storm filed an $8.5 million lawsuit. The suit was filed against the man’s neighbor, the city of Lake Oswego and the Meadowcreeks at Westwood Homeowners Association.

The Lake Oswego Review picks up the story:

On Jan. 13, 2024, a tree fell through the home of Frank George Ness. Jr. at Sunbrook Drive. The tree came from the property of his neighbor, Christopher E. Klock. During the storm that month, hundreds of trees in the community fell onto public and private property — leading to massive cleanup efforts and questions surrounding the city’s permitting standards for tree removals.

Apparently Ness, who died in the tree incident, had warned the neighbor about the risk of the tree’s health in the past. The neighbor tried to remove it, according to the story, but was denied by the HOA.

The lawsuit, put forth by Joseph L. Ness, posits that Klock was negligent for failing to obtain permission to remove or maintain the tree prior to the storm, even though Ness Jr. had informed him about the risk of the tree. It further states that the city and homeowners association were negligent for preventing Klock from removing the tree when he had sought permission to do so.

It’s an excellent reminder that trees are a valuable asset for HOAs, but they need proper care and proper planting. While this is not intended to be a shameless plug, our Sponsor, Ron Zillmer of Legacy-Trees, did a walk-around in our HOA in Lakeville this summer and it was quite revealing (see video below). There are plenty of trees that simply are damaged, dying or not planted correctly that can put nearby homes at risk. And that likely is a theme across the state.

Ron will do a free walk-around for HOAs in Minnesota, and we strongly recommend it. You can reach Ron through his website HERE.