[Vjwkvkoy]

I was partially wrong about liability with my lightning hitting the tree analogy. If the tree is well maintained and healthy when hit by lightning (an act of god), falls and does damage, then the treeowner is not negligent and not liable! If the treeowner could reasonably have anticipated the damage from an act of god then there is an element of negligence and liability.

So in this case the question is whether Bob was negligent in that he attempted to cut down the tree himself. I wouldnt try to cut down a large tree despite that I have a chainsaw and a bagfull of large trees on my property (some of which I'd like to see gone). Unless Bob was a professional lumberjack I'd say it wasnt reasonable for Bob to attempt to cut down the tree therefore Bob was negligent and liable.