My Neighbor's Tree Fell On My Car And Now His Insurance Is Trying To Make Me Pay For The Damage To His Fence

Location: Washington State

The tree was dead. Like visibly, obviously dead. I have photos from over a year ago where you can clearly see it had no leaves, the bark was falling off, and one of the main branches was already split. I sent my neighbor a certified letter last October asking him to remove it because it was leaning toward the parking area where I keep my car. He never responded.

Last month during a windstorm it came down. Landed directly on my car, totaled it. Also took out a section of his own fence on the way down.

My insurance covered my car minus the deductible and is pursuing subrogation against him. That part seems to be moving fine.

The problem is his homeowner's insurance contacted me last week claiming I'm partially liable for the fence damage because my certified letter "may have contributed to his awareness of the risk" and that by not following up more aggressively I shares some responsibility for the outcome. I have never heard anything like this in my life.

They're asking me to sign a document acknowledging "shared causation." I obviously have not signed anything.

My neighbor has not spoken to me since this happened. We have lived next to each other for six years.

Do I have any actual legal exposure here? Can an insurance company really argue that warning someone about a hazard makes you partially responsible for what happens when they ignore it? And should I get my own attorney involved before this goes further or is this the kind of thing I can handle by just not responding?