Do I have a pending neighbor lawsuit in Missouri?
Hi guys, I bought the house I live in back in May 2019, so I've been here for 9 months now. We are on 3 acres at the top of a steep hill; like mountain goat terrain. Today our neighbor at the bottom of the hill called on me to tell me that when it rains, and particularly with this year's apparently higher than usual rain fall, there is a lot of water rushing down our hill onto his property. He said the water has caused his retaining walls to start disintegrating.
He went on to say that the land adjoining his boundary and mine has 'changed'. He was hard to talk with as he's pretty old and hard of hearing, so I don't know if he means the land has shifted or what the story is; I'll go have a look tomorrow. He also said he's contacted a geologist to find out what's going on, and in order to figure it out the geologist will have to dig on my property with heavy equipment and he wanted my permission for the equipment and the dig on my property. Apparently they have to sample for shale or something. Being a good neighbor, I gave him permission; he asked 3 times (this was over the phone), and I said yes 3 times.
Thinking back about this, I'm starting to wonder a few things. Is there a possibility I could be liable for rainwater damage from my property onto his? If my land has shifted, am I obliged to make appropriate repairs or changes to my land? And if so, is it possible that I could be held liable for damage on his retaining walls? Did I make a mistake giving him permission to dig on my land?
Paranoia is starting to set in.