Landscaper liability? (Austin, Paradise: attorney, house, landscaping)

[BethBrown]

Hey, all. I'm new to the forum but excited to start using it! I'm looking for some advice, as I'm having some trouble nailing it down online.

We hired a guy who has his own company to just mow our lawn. When he was here a few days ago, my husband heard a loud noise outside as the guy was mowing, but reasoned he'd run over a branch (or something) because we weren't alerted to any problem.

A few hours later I go outside and see the water spigot which is attached to the hose on the side of our house is GUSHING water, soaking mine and my neighbor's lawn. We turned off the main, and the water was shut off for about three hours while we waited for a plumber to show up. Turns out a copper pipe inside our wall was fractured due to trauma to the spigot.

So I text the landscaper... don't hear back. I write him an e-mail with the plumbing bill attached, and he says the he's not going to pay it and that he was too busy to let us know there was a problem. He says he couldn't have hit the spigot with his riding mower and that if our hose (which was attached to the spigot but laying out on our driveway, not on the lawn) got pulled by his mower than that isn't his responsibility, either.

I plan to take him to small claims court to reimburse us for the cost of the plumber and for what will no doubt be a substantially increased water bill. I'm not sure how liability for landscaping damage works, though! Have any of you out there had to deal with damage done by landscapers on your property? If so, how was it resolved? Any pearls of wisdom out there are appreciated.

THANKS!

[Return2Paradise]

One hurdle you're up against is the fact that the county does not enforce small claims judgments. A losing defendant can simply choose not to pay.

[BethBrown]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

One hurdle you're up against is the fact that the county does not enforce small claims judgments. A losing defendant can simply choose not to pay.

Wow, really? That's disheartening.

[gator24765]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

One hurdle you're up against is the fact that the county does not enforce small claims judgments. A losing defendant can simply choose not to pay.

What is even the point of having a small claims court then.. this seems dumb

[Aquitaine]

It's not quite that simple, but there is some system of exemption whereby they have to have fairly obvious assets you can seize to enforce a judgement, and many things like cars and stuff necessary for their jobs are exempt. So it is possible.

It's also possible that he'll just pay up rather than have a court judgment on his record. Depends how interested he is in that sort of thing.

[BethBrown]

I've already tried to get him to pay, but he thinks he pulled on the hose with his mower, and that therefore it's our fault and not his. (Even though the hose wasn't on the lawn at the time, but attached to the faucet.)

[Return2Paradise]

To clarify my previous post about not having to pay a judgment, the county simply takes no action against judgments. It is possible for you to pursue it, but it's usually not cost effective. You have to retain an attorney, you have to pay additional court fees up front, you have to know (or be able to find out) which banking institution the loser uses, etc, etc. And even then, most assets are off limits in Texas, such as primary house, primary vehicle, specific assets, etc. Wage garnishments are nearly impossible to get, I'm told. If the repair costs are under $4000, I'd say don't even bother, unless you have a lot of free time or if it's the principle of the matter.

Sometimes an official demand for payment letter will scare them into complying.

*Edit- I just noticed you said the pipe inside the wall was damaged. Did water flow inside of your walls? If so, the cleanup and mold prevention/remediation costs might make a lawsuit worthwhile. It's possible that could it even exceed the limits of small claims court if they have to remove drywall, insulation, re-texture, repaint.

[BethBrown]

Originally Posted by Return2Paradise

*Edit- I just noticed you said the pipe inside the wall was damaged. Did water flow inside of your walls? If so, the cleanup and mold prevention/remediation costs might make a lawsuit worthwhile. It's possible that could it even exceed the limits of small claims court if they have to remove drywall, insulation, re-texture, repaint.

The plumber didn't say anything about it, but there was water inside. It was in the garage, so ordinarily I'd suggest that the heat would take care of it, but it has been awfully humid. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye on it!!!

[vlan1]

Originally Posted by BethBrown

The plumber didn't say anything about it, but there was water inside. It was in the garage, so ordinarily I'd suggest that the heat would take care of it, but it has been awfully humid. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye on it!!!

If you have a dehumidifier I would plug it in near the damage inside and let it run for a few days. Mold can be quite the pain once it takes root.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by BethBrown

The plumber didn't say anything about it, but there was water inside. It was in the garage, so ordinarily I'd suggest that the heat would take care of it, but it has been awfully humid. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye on it!!!

As for the interior water, as long as the source of the water is gone you'll have no mold issues. It will dry out and be fine. It's when the problem isn't addressed and a continual moisture condition exists that you would have issues. Whatever you do, don't get conned into the mold remediation scam. The money you'll throw away on that will make the plumbing and water bills seem like pocket change.

Also, regarding the water bill -- I'd contact the utility now (your MUD, or Austin) and let them know about the damaged pipe and that you repaired it. Sometimes they will give you a break and charge you the lower tier on some of that extra water, and that can make a huge difference on the bill.