SUNCOMPLAINTS.COM · THE ALLEGED GAMES

"Act of God": The Dangerous-Maintenance Denial

It is the most efficient denial in the land-lease business. Something the park was responsible for maintaining — a tree, in the case that founded this site — fails, hurts someone or damages a home, and the answer comes back: act of God. No fault, no repair, no compensation. Case closed, unless the resident can afford to argue.

What the law actually says (Florida)

Florida law-firm analyses of tree liability draw a line that matters here. An act-of-God defense generally fits a healthy tree brought down by a storm. A tree that was dead, diseased or visibly decaying is a different case: where the owner knew — or should have known — the tree was a hazard, negligence law can still assign liability, storm or no storm. And the strongest form of knowledge is actual notice: a resident's report, made before the fall, telling management the tree was dying. A sunny, calm day removes the storm from the story entirely.

The alleged pattern

Residents allege the sequence runs like this: hazard reported; reassurance given; nothing done; failure; rapid cleanup that also removes the evidence; denial letter; and a resident who discovers that suing a REIT costs more than they will ever have. The founding case on this site — the La Costa Village tree — follows that alleged sequence point for point, including the couple who, per the resident account, dropped their lawsuit on their own attorney's advice that they could not afford the fight.

Make the paper trail before you need it

Report hazards in writing, dated, and keep your copy — an email to the park office beats a conversation at the clubhouse, because an email cannot be un-remembered. Photograph the hazard with something dated in frame. If it fails: photograph everything before cleanup, and write down who said what, when. Then file it — your community page has a dangerous-maintenance category, and a dated prior report plus photos is the difference between "act of God" and a negligence file an attorney general or a plaintiffs' firm can use.

Sources: Florida tree-liability analyses by Florida law firms (summarized, Oct 2025); founding resident account at /cases/the-la-costa-tree/ (unverified, as labeled there).

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