A son of an 81-year-old Lake Oswego man who died after a tree fell on his home last year filed a lawsuit against a neighbor, the city and the homeowner’s association, seeking $8.5 million.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court, alleges the man’s neighbor, Christopher Klock, should have known the tree was a hazard to others and failed to remove it.
It also claims the city of Lake Oswego and Meadowcreeks at Westwood Homeowners Association refused to let Klock remove the tree when he asked for permission to do so.
Frank George Ness Jr., 81, died Jan. 13, 2024, when the tree fell on his house in the 5900 block of Sunbrook Drive and crashed through the second floor. A winter storm with high winds was moving through the area, and after firefighters and police arrived, another tree fell on a car nearby, city officials said then.
Frank Ness’s son Joseph Ness filed the suit. The lawsuit said Frank Ness is survived by his wife, Rita, sons Joseph and Larry and his step daughter, Joy Natale.
Klock, representatives of the city and the homeowner’s association could not immediately be reached for comment.
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