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  #1  
Old 07-14-2004, 07:14 AM
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Water Main Break


What is the name of your state? NJ

First off, I know this is a long shot and I highly doubt there is any recourse but I just have to ask.

AFter being in my new home for 2 weeks, the water main breaks under my driveway. This has cost multi thousands of dollars to repair since the main pipe between the street and the home is not the responsability of the water company. My question is, is there any recourse I have with the seller on this issue?


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  #2  
Old 07-14-2004, 08:33 AM
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Quote:
My question is, is there any recourse I have with the seller on this issue?
There is no way to give a legitimate answer without much more. Including, was the break attributable to negligence, construction defect, traffic or did you even have the fault determined?
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  #3  
Old 07-14-2004, 09:06 AM
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Breezy is right. Nobody can possibly know what to tell you without knowing what caused the break and whether there was any way they could know in advance there was a possibity of the break occuring.
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  #4  
Old 07-14-2004, 09:46 AM
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again, this is million to 1 shot post.

What leak was, was a hairline fracture in the poly (plastic) 1 inch water main 7 feet under my driveway and 50 feet from the water main valve at the curb. What caused the fracture? The plumbers speculated as defective piping or (this sounds good) last year the township plowed my street (according to my neighbor) and hit the curb right at the water main and pushed the curb back 12 inches (the curb is almost 2 feet deep) and with that the plumbers think the shock of that might have cause a very tiny fracture which progressively got worse (to the point it was yesterday) and started to show above ground 4 days ago. Of course since my purchase 2 weeks ago.

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  #5  
Old 07-14-2004, 09:58 AM
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Then you're going to need the services of a structural engineer, a complete documented history of the activity that 'may' have caused the damage, and then a construction litigation attorney to put the pieces together and determine if a lawsuit is feesible.

All at a very high cost.
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  #6  
Old 07-14-2004, 11:25 AM
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And have you filed a claim with your homeowner's insurance?
  #7  
Old 07-14-2004, 11:34 AM
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Homeowners excludes underground water damage although they would cover if my basement was flooded and to make repairs to it but not to my driveway. Looking for a new insurance company now.


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  #8  
Old 07-14-2004, 11:39 AM
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Ok, thanks, it was worth a shot.
  #9  
Old 07-14-2004, 11:55 AM
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I thought this was a futile thing to pursue but hey, it does not hurt trying and I hope it was good reading for all.


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