We live in Illinois
We purchased our home from my grandparents in February of 2004. When my grandparents lived in the house the sewer main line backed up into the basement through the main floor drain. My Grandparents were told that the lift pump on Washington St. suffered a power outage.
In January of 2005 our basement flooded. We cleaned it up with a shop vac and the next day the water was back. We were not sure what caused the flooding, but it was coming from the main drain and had toilet paper in it with a minimal smell. We called a plumber and the plumber stated that the problem was probably the city main line and that ZaZa's Restaurant puts grease in the lines. He stated that he had been in our area many times. He also said it would probably happen again.
The next day I called the Water Department Supervisor . He assured me that it was not the city line. He stated that a worker checked and could show me pictures of the line. I told him that it wasn't necessary. My husband and I figured that the plumber was just trying to get us to purchase unnecessary items.
On Friday May 20th, my husband and I came home at around 5:30pm. As soon as we opened our door we were overcome by a horrible stench. We looked down the stairs to the basement and saw water. As we walked down the stairs we noticed the water, toilet paper and feces on the floor. The water was still flowing in from the basements main drain. The water was 2-3 inches deep and you could see the water flowing in. The smell was unbearable. It was just like sticking your head inside of a used porta-potty's toilet lid. We both instantly became sickand my husband tried to plug the whole the best he could to keep more feces, toilet paper, and sewage from flowing into our basement. In the meantime, I immediately called the water department and received a voice mail. I then called the emergency number given on the voice mail.
A department worker was at the house 15 minutes later and told us that he had to go and get his tools. 10 minutes or so after that we noticed him uncovering a manhole. A few minutes later we noticed a huge truck and another worker with a smaller truck working at the manhole. He later came back to the house and stated that it was a their problem. He stated that something clogged the main line and it is now gone. When we asked what was clogged he stated that he could not state what it may or may not have been because he had been in trouble before for doing so. At that point we checked the basement and the water was no longer flowing. I then told him about the plumber that we had in January and asked if he knew anything about ZaZa's restaurant putting grease down the drains.He stated that the EPA had been telling the restaurant to install a grease trap and that they have had problems in the past with the restaurant. I then asked what we needed to do now. He said that he tried to call management and could not get a hold of anyone. He said the best thing to do would be to call a cleanup crew, and contact his supervisor on Monday morning.
When the cleanup crew arrived they stated that it would take 3 days for the dehumidifiers to do their job. That meant that we had to spend at least 3 days with the horrible smell. We then asked if the sewage could make us sick, and the stated yes there's cholera, E.Coli and other very serious bacteria. We were extremely upset at this point because we have pets, we had guests which included children coming over that night, and there was a possibility that they could all get sick from this. The cleanup crew asked for $1000 down which was our insurance deductible and then they would submit the remainder to the insurance company.
On Monday morning I contacted the insurance company and was told the incident would not be covered. We were extremely surprised to find this out. I then contacted the city supervisor to discuss the issue. I was extremely upset and was told by him that he was sorry that this happened, but that the town could not be held responsible. He stated that grease clogged the line and that ZaZa's was who I needed to talk to. I then asked him if ZaZa's had installed the grease trap that they were supposed to install. He said no, and they have been sending letters as well as the EPA to get that completed. He then told me that I could contact the inspector from the Health Department and another gentelman from the EPA. The health department stated that the restaurant had until September to have the grease trap installed.
On 5/23/05 (Monday night) the cleanup crew came back to finish the cleanup process. Unfortunately the second phase of the cleanup could not be completed because the commercial dehumidifiers and fans used to dry out and remove the rancid moisture from the air had still not finished doing their job. In the meantime the house still smelled of feces since the air was seeping throughout via the ducting in the basement. We were also unable to heat or cool our home over the weekend, as that would force air from the furnace in the basement throughout the house. The furnace is located 1 foot away from the source of the drain that was backing up. So it ended up taking four days to cleanup and you can still faintly smell the sewage.
We currently received estimates from 2 contractors on what it would cost to fix the damages done by the sewage. This estimate does not include damages done to furniture or personal items.
I have since sent letters to the city and the restaurant asking them to submit my letter to their insurance companies. The city's insurance company notified me that they were not responsible and to contact the restaurant. The restaurants insurance company has not responded.
The main questions that I need answered are:
1. Do I have a case?
2. Is it agains the law if the restaurant doesnt submit the letter I sent to their insurance company?
3. Is there a time period for which I have to act on this?
4. Is the city protected because they are a municipality?
5. What kind of cost in total am I looking at to hire a lawyer?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
We purchased our home from my grandparents in February of 2004. When my grandparents lived in the house the sewer main line backed up into the basement through the main floor drain. My Grandparents were told that the lift pump on Washington St. suffered a power outage.
In January of 2005 our basement flooded. We cleaned it up with a shop vac and the next day the water was back. We were not sure what caused the flooding, but it was coming from the main drain and had toilet paper in it with a minimal smell. We called a plumber and the plumber stated that the problem was probably the city main line and that ZaZa's Restaurant puts grease in the lines. He stated that he had been in our area many times. He also said it would probably happen again.
The next day I called the Water Department Supervisor . He assured me that it was not the city line. He stated that a worker checked and could show me pictures of the line. I told him that it wasn't necessary. My husband and I figured that the plumber was just trying to get us to purchase unnecessary items.
On Friday May 20th, my husband and I came home at around 5:30pm. As soon as we opened our door we were overcome by a horrible stench. We looked down the stairs to the basement and saw water. As we walked down the stairs we noticed the water, toilet paper and feces on the floor. The water was still flowing in from the basements main drain. The water was 2-3 inches deep and you could see the water flowing in. The smell was unbearable. It was just like sticking your head inside of a used porta-potty's toilet lid. We both instantly became sickand my husband tried to plug the whole the best he could to keep more feces, toilet paper, and sewage from flowing into our basement. In the meantime, I immediately called the water department and received a voice mail. I then called the emergency number given on the voice mail.
A department worker was at the house 15 minutes later and told us that he had to go and get his tools. 10 minutes or so after that we noticed him uncovering a manhole. A few minutes later we noticed a huge truck and another worker with a smaller truck working at the manhole. He later came back to the house and stated that it was a their problem. He stated that something clogged the main line and it is now gone. When we asked what was clogged he stated that he could not state what it may or may not have been because he had been in trouble before for doing so. At that point we checked the basement and the water was no longer flowing. I then told him about the plumber that we had in January and asked if he knew anything about ZaZa's restaurant putting grease down the drains.He stated that the EPA had been telling the restaurant to install a grease trap and that they have had problems in the past with the restaurant. I then asked what we needed to do now. He said that he tried to call management and could not get a hold of anyone. He said the best thing to do would be to call a cleanup crew, and contact his supervisor on Monday morning.
When the cleanup crew arrived they stated that it would take 3 days for the dehumidifiers to do their job. That meant that we had to spend at least 3 days with the horrible smell. We then asked if the sewage could make us sick, and the stated yes there's cholera, E.Coli and other very serious bacteria. We were extremely upset at this point because we have pets, we had guests which included children coming over that night, and there was a possibility that they could all get sick from this. The cleanup crew asked for $1000 down which was our insurance deductible and then they would submit the remainder to the insurance company.
On Monday morning I contacted the insurance company and was told the incident would not be covered. We were extremely surprised to find this out. I then contacted the city supervisor to discuss the issue. I was extremely upset and was told by him that he was sorry that this happened, but that the town could not be held responsible. He stated that grease clogged the line and that ZaZa's was who I needed to talk to. I then asked him if ZaZa's had installed the grease trap that they were supposed to install. He said no, and they have been sending letters as well as the EPA to get that completed. He then told me that I could contact the inspector from the Health Department and another gentelman from the EPA. The health department stated that the restaurant had until September to have the grease trap installed.
On 5/23/05 (Monday night) the cleanup crew came back to finish the cleanup process. Unfortunately the second phase of the cleanup could not be completed because the commercial dehumidifiers and fans used to dry out and remove the rancid moisture from the air had still not finished doing their job. In the meantime the house still smelled of feces since the air was seeping throughout via the ducting in the basement. We were also unable to heat or cool our home over the weekend, as that would force air from the furnace in the basement throughout the house. The furnace is located 1 foot away from the source of the drain that was backing up. So it ended up taking four days to cleanup and you can still faintly smell the sewage.
We currently received estimates from 2 contractors on what it would cost to fix the damages done by the sewage. This estimate does not include damages done to furniture or personal items.
I have since sent letters to the city and the restaurant asking them to submit my letter to their insurance companies. The city's insurance company notified me that they were not responsible and to contact the restaurant. The restaurants insurance company has not responded.
The main questions that I need answered are:
1. Do I have a case?
2. Is it agains the law if the restaurant doesnt submit the letter I sent to their insurance company?
3. Is there a time period for which I have to act on this?
4. Is the city protected because they are a municipality?
5. What kind of cost in total am I looking at to hire a lawyer?
Thanks for any help you can provide.