Lansing woman died when a tree fell on her home in the August storm. Now her family is suing a neighbor
LANSING — The family of the elderly Lansing woman killed last summer in the Fabulous Acres Neighborhood when a severe storm hit the area has filed a lawsuit against a neighbor.
The lawsuit, filed by Willard Payne, claims that the tree that fell onto Vernita Payne's house and killed her was on a neighbor's property and had not been maintained.
A code compliance officer with the City of Lansing had previously tagged the tree "as a potential danger and known risk, due to the tree's poor health and condition," according to the lawsuit. Tasha Canty, whose property the tree was on, "failed to take any precautions to mitigate the risks," the suit claims.
However, Scott Bean, a Lansing spokesperson, said city code compliance inspectors, or those from any other department, do not inspect or tag trees on private property. He added there's no record of city involvement with the tree.
Jeanne Barron, Canty's attorney, and Matthew Samuels, an attorney for Willard Payne, both declined to comment for this story. Willard Payne is the personal representative for Vernita Payne's estate.
Canty spoke to the State Journal in February and said she knew Payne for years.
"I have nightmares from that situation, and I wish it would have fallen a different way," Canty said. "She was a grandmother to everybody, even people who weren't related to her."
Vernita Payne, 84, was one of two people killed in the Lansing area in August when a storm that produced an EF-2 tornado made its way through the region. It knocked out power and uprooted trees in Lansing before moving east, becoming a tornado and striking Interstate 96.
A 40-year-old Hartland man was killed near Williamston when the tornado struck drivers on I-96 leaving behind a roughly 12-mile trail of destruction from Wheatfield Township to south of Fowlerville. It carved a path as wide as 500 yards in some places.
Within days of the August storm, local officials said they expected it to be the most expensive of any area weather event. Trees were snapped apart. Siding was pulled off homes. Large areas were without power for days.
The Lansing Board of Water and Light, which has about 100,000 electric customers in Lansing and surrounding communities, put the damage between $8 million to $10 million, at least $2 million more than the 2013 ice storm.
More: Nurse from St. Johns escapes tornado on I-96, then helps injured family get to hospital
BWL crews cut up the tree to remove it from Payne's property.
Payne was known to many people who live in the neighborhood near REO Town as "granny" or "aunt," and was the only person home during the August storm.
She had eight children, dozens of grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.
The family is seeking compensation for pain and suffering and funeral costs, according to the lawsuit.
Photos: Family, friends mourn death of Lansing woman killed by falling tree
Reporters Rachel Greco and Mike Ellis contributed to this story.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing woman died when a tree fell on her home in the August storm. Now her family is suing a neighbor
