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Plenty of people get sued even after a statute of limitation has ran out. A statute isn't a end all I'm not responsible anymore for a problem I caused now it's your problem. There is a huge case with Exide batteries and one of the old recycling manufacturing sites due to lead contamination in Vernon California.
I would be calling a lawyer regardless of a statute running out. I would be filing suit against everyone that had anything to do with the purchase of the property.
Smarter to just fix the septic system. Even a cheap lawyer's retainer will run you $600 - $1000. By that time, you could have repaired the problem and be having a pig roast in the back yard.
Plenty of people get sued even after a statute of limitation has ran out. A statute isn't a end all I'm not responsible anymore for a problem I caused now it's your problem. There is a huge case with Exide batteries and one of the old recycling manufacturing sites due to lead contamination in Vernon California.
I would be calling a lawyer regardless of a statute running out. I would be filing suit against everyone that had anything to do with the purchase of the property.
Complete waste of time.
The guy who ran the pipe could likely be sued by the pond owner, but the foreclosure indicates there's no money there.
The guy who ran the pipe could possibly be pursued by the government for damaging a wetland
The guy who ran the pipe might not even be the previous owner.
The selling lender? Nope.
The real estate agents? Nope
Home inspector? Nope, unless you specifically paid for a septic inspection..
As mentioned previously, this isn't a new situation - the standard purchase contract here advises buyers to verify sewer connections. The standard disclosure doc also attempts to sniff out sewer connections, but if a buyer accepts a property without one, they're accepting the risk of something like this.
Buyers don't get to have it both ways - you can pay retail & get disclosures, or buy Reo's at a discount - the lack of disclosure is part of the reason you're getting a discount.
You sue the ****ing inspector and the bank. You're running into DISCLOSURES and OMISSIONS. It's not a simple you bought it it's your problem. Just because its bank owned doesn't mean they are not responsible. I didn't realize it was bought 5 years ago. I read it as it was relatively recent purchase. Even so you're talking about a major environmental issue. Companies have been sued for dumping things way further back than 5 years. This isn't a case of something just broken after moving in. It's a illegally installed sewer line dumping into what was once a pond. Deliberately. I don't see why you can't retroactively sue for something like this. I would try that before shelling out 25k. So it's not as cut and dried as you seem to say.
The bank did would have never had any knowledge of what the sewage system was. I would bet there was no inspector involved. The buyer bought it from the bank, and was sold as is, and the bank gave no guarantee of things like the sewer system, as they had only been involved in owning it due to foreclosure, and made no disclosure as to the condition of anything, as they would have had no knowledge of any problems.
There had been a septic system at one time apparently, but the tank had a hole in it, and someone just ran the line down the hill and dumped it on another persons property bypassing the septic system. Very illegal, and near impossible to find who did it, if you wanted to sue them for damages. They probably do not have any money to pay for damage if OP was to win the case, and the suite would cost the OP more than he could recover. The neighbor could sue the OP, to clean up the environmental damage caused by the sewage being dumped on their property.
To continue to use the current system as is, can also get big fines for dumping raw sewage, especially into a water filled pond which is covered under different laws.
As I see it, the OP has basically two paths from which to choose.
He can have a lawyer examine the history of transactions and documents to see if he has a case against anyone for what could be tens of thousands of dollars in repairs or hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars in environmental mitigation and penalties, or he can continue to put both his financial and bodily health at risk by heeding the advice of a few internet experts.
Sometimes ya just get screwed in life.. a million dollars worth of EPA fees for fixing a pond I didn't know I was contaminating would be one of them scenarios where a bullet to the head would just be the easier solution.. thank you me for not doing more due diligence, and thank you to whoever the slime-ball was who did an illegal installation and was willing to pollute a nearby pond to save $10,000.
Plenty of people get sued even after a statute of limitation has ran out. A statute isn't a end all I'm not responsible anymore for a problem I caused now it's your problem. There is a huge case with Exide batteries and one of the old recycling manufacturing sites due to lead contamination in Vernon California.
I would be calling a lawyer regardless of a statute running out. I would be filing suit against everyone that had anything to do with the purchase of the property.
This is a big problem in the US. Everyone is sue crazy and no one wants to take responsibility.
As for the OP. Suck it up. You bought a house as is. You can't cry about it now. Fix it to code because that is what you will have to do and be done with it.
A pond someone has dumped sewage in is NOT a cesspool, it's just an open pool of sewage at this point. A cesspool is very similar to a septic tank, usually having no bottom and have to be pumped out occasionally.
What you have is an illegal system, if anything you better hope your neighbor doesn't find out about it. The existence of a dock and float/raft shows at one time people may have swam in the pond.
Heck no, cesspools are closed systems, with covers, not just open bodies of water. What the OP is describing is a pond now polluted with sewage runoff. And as you say, the existence of a dock and float on the pond indicates the intention (at least once upon a time) for its recreational use.
I can only imagine the reaction of the owners of the pond in the event the OP shows up at their door requesting to buy their "cesspool"- more like, "your pond, now that we have polluted it."
Sometimes ya just get screwed in life.. a million dollars worth of EPA fees for fixing a pond I didn't know I was contaminating would be one of them scenarios where a bullet to the head would just be the easier solution.. thank you me for not doing more due diligence, and thank you to whoever the slime-ball was who did an illegal installation and was willing to pollute a nearby pond to save $10,000.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but I can't imagine buying a house , especially an "as is" foreclosure without getting a house inspection ( roof, electrical, plumbing, structural, and septic system) by licensed experienced inspectors before I bought the house. Sounds like this issue could have been discovered before the OP bought the house had he had the septic system inspected at that point, and the old owner/ seller would be on the hook for it. Seems to me that house plumbing drain lines not connected to a septic tank ( and where they go being anyone's guess) pretty much indicates the work is gerry-rigged, ie, not done to,any code.
The guy who ran the pipe could likely be sued by the pond owner, but the foreclosure indicates there's no money there.
The guy who ran the pipe could possibly be pursued by the government for damaging a wetland
The guy who ran the pipe might not even be the previous owner.
no he was in a right of way, he cant be touch, he did nothing wrong
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