The Region - News from Sept. 19, 1986

The Hemet City Council refused to buy Carole Neale a new windshield to replace the one that was broken by a bunya-bunya cone. That cone--from one of the big evergreens owned by the city--weighs about eight pounds and left glass all over the front seat when it fell from the tree and smashed through the windshield. But Neale said she was surprised when the city turned down her claim. “I figured you go to City Hall, fill out the form, turn it in, and they pay it. I was wrong,” she said, as she prepared to take her $273 claim to Small Claims Court. But Hemet City Atty. Robert Henderson demurred. “The city is not liable for damage,” he said, “unless the tree is in a damaged condition. These things falling from the tree is really a natural condition.”