[Villageswimmer]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

If you lose the lawsuit, will you still refuse to fix it? Again I agree that this sounds like something that will ultimately need to end up in court. I totally get that and agree with it.

But taking someone to court doesn't always mean winning the lawsuit.

If you lose, you pay the court costs, and their court costs, and you still have damage to your property, and the leak that caused the damage still isn't fixed. But now, you know that your neighbor won't have to pay to fix it.

You have to be prepared to lose, if you plan on taking someone to court. This isn't to say that you'll lose. But you have to plan for the possibility. To do otherwise is short-sighted.

Fighting to prove you're right rarely ends up well.

I’d first exhaust efforts with the Water Dept. Water is being wasted and they have a responsibility here. I’d press hard, but professionally, and make sure you talk with a high level employee. Get a name and send a description of the problem with photos.

As a last resort, I, too, would offer to cover the repair. It’s causing you extreme stress and why drag this on through a lengthy legal process? Perhaps your neighbor is financially strapped and can’t afford the repair? (At the same time, she is paying an exorbitant water bill).

It goes without saying you’d need to get your neighbor’s permission to have the repair done so you wouldn’t be trespassing.

I hope you can resolve this soon. Sorry you’re dealing with this.

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by Jazuela

If you lose the lawsuit, will you still refuse to fix it? Again I agree that this sounds like something that will ultimately need to end up in court. I totally get that and agree with it.

But taking someone to court doesn't always mean winning the lawsuit.

If you lose, you pay the court costs, and their court costs, and you still have damage to your property, and the leak that caused the damage still isn't fixed. But now, you know that your neighbor won't have to pay to fix it.

You have to be prepared to lose, if you plan on taking someone to court. This isn't to say that you'll lose. But you have to plan for the possibility. To do otherwise is short-sighted.

Fighting to prove you're right rarely ends up well.

Well then the property can just rot because hell will freeze before I will fix.

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by Villageswimmer

I’d first exhaust efforts with the Water Dept. Water is being wasted and they have a responsibility here. I’d press hard, but professionally, and make sure you talk with a high level employee. Get a name and send a description of the problem with photos.

As a last resort, I, too, would offer to cover the repair. It’s causing you extreme stress and why drag this on through a lengthy legal process? Perhaps your neighbor is financially strapped and can’t afford the repair? (At the same time, she is paying an exorbitant water bill).

It goes without saying you’d need to get your neighbor’s permission to have the repair done so you wouldn’t be trespassing.

I hope you can resolve this soon. Sorry you’re dealing with this.

Thank you for your thoughts. I will not pay for her repairs. She travels and still works so she's financially secure. I will let this property go to rot before I will spend a dime to repair her mess. Then maybe TV will come after me and we can resolve this. Phone calls start again in the morning.

[HiHoSteveO]

Since it's hard to tell if the neighbor is overwatering (we don't know, but they may have a very large lot) Although 27K gallons seems quite excessive.

Or if the irrigation system has a leak

Or if the drainage swales are insufficient to remove the excess from your lot.

Or what the neighbor says about all this. What did the neighbor say?

The fact remains that water from their property is causing root rot and killing your lawn and now it needs to be replaced. And the neighbor is unresponsive.

A previous poster mentioned something like, until it hits the neighbor in the pocketbook, nothing will happen.
I agree.

If it were me, I think that at this point, before any lawsuit, I would next hire an attorney to write a well-worded letter explaining the property damage being caused and that it's only getting worse (and more expensive) including a near future lawsuit and a deadline for them to at least respond.

Good luck

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by HiHoSteveO

Since it's hard to tell if the neighbor is overwatering (we don't know, but they may have a very large lot) Although 27K gallons seems quite excessive.

Or if the irrigation system has a leak

Or if the drainage swales are insufficient to remove the excess from your lot.

Or what the neighbor says about all this. What did the neighbor say?

The fact remains that water from their property is causing root rot and killing your lawn and now it needs to be replaced. And the neighbor is unresponsive.

A previous poster mentioned something like, until it hits the neighbor in the pocketbook, nothing will happen.
I agree.

If it were me, I think that at this point, before any lawsuit, I would next hire an attorney to write a well-worded letter explaining the property damage being caused and that it's only getting worse (and more expensive) including a near future lawsuit and a deadline for them to at least respond.

Good luck

It's a property in gilchrist with designer size home not on water front space but land locked, so to speak.

I believe it is a leak from having work done by non professionals who have nicked a pipe. The water never stops.

I approached her face to face initially and she yessed me to death and then suggested dinner some time to deflect the conversation. Our next encounter was a screaming match a week later after Public Safety came out.

Her landscaper came out and said "gee, the sprinklers are working" and left. My landscaper offered to dig a trench for me but that's just a bandaid that doesn't fix it.

I like your idea of a letter from my attorney. I'll put that on my list of phone calls for tomorrow.

Thank you.

[HiHoSteveO]

Originally Posted by DianeM

It's a property in gilchrist with designer size home not on water front space but land locked, so to speak.

I believe it is a leak from having work done by non professionals who have nicked a pipe. The water never stops.

I approached her face to face initially and she yessed me to death and then suggested dinner some time to deflect the conversation. Our next encounter was a screaming match a week later after Public Safety came out.

Her landscaper came out and said "gee, the sprinklers are working" and left. My landscaper offered to dig a trench for me but that's just a bandaid that doesn't fix it.

I like your idea of a letter from my attorney. I'll put that on my list of phone calls for tomorrow.

Thank you.

This is probably not the case since you've already had people there looking at the problem but just be certain that it is NOT coming from your own property. (how embarrassing)

What if it was actually YOUR pipe that was nicked before the meter?
Even if your system has been off for 5 months as you say in post 37. And even if your irrigation water usage is zero, it is still possible that the leak is before YOUR meter.
The water dept can test that.

I'm wondering this because if your irrigation system has been off for 5 months, I'd think your entire lawn (front, rear and sides) would be mostly brown and dead.
And if your neighbor is watering so excessively, why isn't her lawn also root rotted? Especially in poorly drained areas.

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by HiHoSteveO

This is probably not the case since you've already had people there looking at the problem but just be certain that it is NOT coming from your own property. (how embarrassing)

What if it was actually YOUR pipe that was nicked before the meter?
Even if your system has been off for 5 months as you say in post 37. And even if your irrigation water usage is zero, it is still possible that the leak is before YOUR meter.
The water dept can test that.

I'm wondering this because if your irrigation system has been off for 5 months, I'd think your entire lawn (front, rear and sides) would be mostly brown and dead.
And if your neighbor is watering so excessively, why isn't her lawn also root rotted? Especially in poorly drained areas.

I had my system checked before I said a word to her so I am confident it's not me.

There is no reason to water all winter when grass is dormant. Mine is not brown and dead but normal for spring grass. We've had more than enough rain to provide moisture. It's just grass and doesn't need to babied. I seldom turn my irrigation on as it's a waste of resources. It's only on in the dead heat of summer.

The water is running from her to me as I'm lower. Didn't have a problem for the 5 years I lived here.

Repairs will be done to my property most likely with a French drain by me and then trust me, she and I will never speak again.

[EdFNJ]

Originally Posted by DianeM

I will let this property go to rot before I will spend a dime to repair her mess.

Originally Posted by DianeM

Repairs will be done to my property most likely with a French drain by me and then trust me, she and I will never speak again.

Oh no! You're giving in? Was hoping to read about a court case in the Happy News!

[DianeM]

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

Oh no! You're giving in? Was hoping to read about a court case in the Happy News!

Didn't say I was giving in. I will have to repair if I ever want to dump this place on the market. Fix and then sue when I know what it is going to cost me.

Why on earth would a private lawsuit make it to the worthless rag? Are people seriously that nosy?

[willbush]

If it was my neighbor, I would go over and fix the problem? I often fix my neighbors irrigation issues for free. I've fixed 2 neighbors irrigations issues last week. Maybe get a few guys togethers to see if she will let them fix the issue. It's most likely a busted underground pipe (about 1 ft underground, or a busted sprinkler where it's attached to main pipe (about 8 inches deep) both easy fixes. It's just PVC which is easy to fix or an elbow under the sprinkler or a busted sprinkler head. A massive leak underground could cause a small sinkhole if not corrected.

[Twofour6]

You would think they would be a concern when she gets her monthly CDD water bill. You might ask if she's ever looked at her usage enough to be concerned.

[cwhitecat]

CDD will not get involved. They will tell you it is a civil matter.

[Topspinmo]

How about just call the water company and report leak? If is continuous water flow they should be able to find it. Also, I agree it pressure line leak it’s saturating the ground and we know what that does down here or any where?

[pauld315]

Originally Posted by DianeM

There is no reason to water all winter when grass is dormant. Mine is not brown and dead but normal for spring grass. We've had more than enough rain to provide moisture. It's just grass and doesn't need to babied.

Let me preface this by saying we have Augustine grass. If you have one of the varieties of grass that turn brown in the winter (ie: Zoysia) then you are correct.

With Augustine, it is the opposite. Here in Florida, the winter is the dry season and, according to my landscaper, the lawn needs to be watered with at least 1 and preferably 2 inches of water per week. In the summer, it needs at least 2 inches of water per week but it rains almost everyday. We turn our irrigation system off for most of the summer unless we are going away for a week. We do live here year round and monitor how much rain we are getting weekly. You might say it is just grass but you should get an estimate to see how much it would cost to resod your lawn. Not cheap if you have a good size lawn.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by willbush

If it was my neighbor, I would go over and fix the problem? I often fix my neighbors irrigation issues for free. I've fixed 2 neighbors irrigations issues last week. Maybe get a few guys togethers to see if she will let them fix the issue. It's most likely a busted underground pipe (about 1 ft underground, or a busted sprinkler where it's attached to main pipe (about 8 inches deep) both easy fixes. It's just PVC which is easy to fix or an elbow under the sprinkler or a busted sprinkler head. A massive leak underground could cause a small sinkhole if not corrected.

Given the already established contentious nature between them, I would be very hesitant to go onto someone else's property and dig things up...even if it was done with the 'best of intentions.'