branch of dead tree fell on car?

My mothers street is being worked on. So when i went to visit her i had to park down the street where the work was already done. I left about 3 hours ago and found a branch on my car. As i was taking pictures of the damage ( thankfully it was very minor) somebody came up to tell me that the tree was "dead" and therefor the damage was the home owners fault. The thing is that i do not think that's the case and the home owner is in Afghan. I do not want to contact him cause the it is the last thing he needs. I was than told he might have "power of attorney" and that i should contact them. Any truth to this? I do not want to file a claim, but just wanted to know if a "dead tree" branch falls off and hits somebody or their car..is the home owner responsible?