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Neighbour's Driveway Damaged

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NJSanju1

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? NJ, Building new house and neighbour's driveway was damaged by my builder's sub contractor who wanted to get dirt from my backyard to dumpster. since my lot is not usable. i did not knew till luckily i stopped to look at my house and noticed. My neibghour wants two months rent b'case the NEW and first tenent did not rent house b'case the dirveway is damaged. and $10K escrow deposit with him.
My builder agreed to rebuild his driveway free and i agreed to pay rent for 2mths ( even though it would be only 6 weeks time limit.) based on his story he cannot rent b'case my lot is sloppy ther's no fence between his property line and mine. sloppy lot is 10 feet height in backyard and it's like big hole when looked from his driveway.

what's the worst damage he can do legally and financially to me and to my builder, he might pull the stunts but from court's point of view if he sues me. b'cae i don't what to give him $10K excrow.
 


justalayman

Senior Member
NJSanju1 said:
What is the name of your state? NJ, Building new house and neighbour's driveway was damaged by my builder's sub contractor who wanted to get dirt from my backyard to dumpster. since my lot is not usable. i did not knew till luckily i stopped to look at my house and noticed. My neibghour wants two months rent b'case the NEW and first tenent did not rent house b'case the dirveway is damaged. and $10K escrow deposit with him.
My builder agreed to rebuild his driveway free and i agreed to pay rent for 2mths ( even though it would be only 6 weeks time limit.) based on his story he cannot rent b'case my lot is sloppy ther's no fence between his property line and mine. sloppy lot is 10 feet height in backyard and it's like big hole when looked from his driveway.

what's the worst damage he can do legally and financially to me and to my builder, he might pull the stunts but from court's point of view if he sues me. b'cae i don't what to give him $10K excrow.
If he thinks there needs to be a fence, tell him to put one in. Unless you are physically damaging his property, tell him to bugger off.
I think you are being overly nice to your builder though. If he damaged property, he should take care of all the expense. (although I don't think the neighbor is due anything except the repairs.)

I find it hard to believe he had a renter backed out of a lease, oh, the renter had not signed a lease you say? How do you know why this prospective renter did not rent the house. Unless the driveway was totally unusable, I don't think a judge would see things his way at all.

As long as your lot is not covered in debris, the neighbor is just SOL (and I don't mean statute of limitations). Now you and/or the builder should be concerned about any children in the area, but that is a different thread.
 

GaAtty

Member
This is why your builder should have liability insurance. If he doesn't, get another one who does. You would be nuts to put $10K in escrow with your neighbor. What will ensure that you get it back if you do no damage? The neighbor does not have an escrow account like an attorney. Be more careful with a contractor in the future.
 

NJSanju1

Junior Member
Neighbour's driveway damaged

My Neighbour also mentioned that if he files complain with OSHA they will levy penalty of up to $100K, Does OSHA involves in residential construction ? would my township hold the construction of my home till his driveway is repaired ? does he has right to get his own contractor to repair even when my builder will do it for fee ? he is also going to rebuild his won house later on and i gave him my home plan totally free so he does not have to spend $7-8K rather just couple of hundred dollars for artichect to change the address on new plan under his home address. in court will this hurt his credibility ?

he wants $10K escrow and 2 mths mortgage wnat this check by 4/20/06 or he initiate legal actions.

pl. appericiate all the help.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
My Neighbour also mentioned that if he files complain with OSHA they will levy penalty of up to $100K,
Only if there are safety violations that would warrant this fine. $100k is a big fine for OSHA. Something would have to be very severe to warrant such a fine. Additioanlly, unless you are the GC, you ahouldn't have anything to worry about. The GC is the one who would/could be fiined.
Does OSHA involves in residential construction ?
They deal with any consruction as well as many other thihngs.
would my township hold the construction of my home till his driveway is repaired ?
I would doubt it but they may have osme way to do it.
does he has right to get his own contractor to repair even when my builder will do it for fee ?
yes. just because your builder did the damage does not mean he has to use your builder to repair it.
he is also going to rebuild his won house later on and i gave him my home plan totally free so he does not have to spend $7-8K rather just couple of hundred dollars for artichect to change the address on new plan under his home address
You might want to think about this. When you buy plans, they are often for a one time us without additional fees to the architect. you may be responsible to your architect for the fees.
. in court will this hurt his credibility ?
It would have nothing to do with the case

he wants $10K escrow and 2 mths mortgage wnat this check by 4/20/06 or he initiate legal actions
.If it was me, I would call his bluff. He needs to present you with a bill for the damage. Your contractor needs to pay the bill. All will be right at that point. I would tell him no dice on the $10k. You never did say what the escrow was even meant for. What's up with the escrow?
 

NJSanju1

Junior Member
Neighbours drive damaged

Quote:
he wants $10K escrow and 2 mths mortgage wants this check by 4/20/06 or he initiate legal actions


**** legally if he files compalin with township and law suite would i be responsible to pay his loss of rent. he is kind of con artist and would have fake agreement from his friends or who ever that due to damaged driveway couple of tenants denied to rent his property and loss of rental income ?

$10K escrow he will hold, and if the damage is repaired by May 31st he will return the $10K to me.

if not he also mantioned that it will cost me more if i don't pay 2 mths mortgage and $10K escrow

If i deny to pay 2mt mortgage and $10K escrow he will hire an attorney to sue me Would i be responsible for his attorney's fees ??

would my township hold the construction of my home till his driveway is repaired ?

I would doubt it but they may have osme way to do it.

you said they may have some way to do it ?? can you pl. clarify they may have some way to stop my construction ?? or some way to help me get the construcion rolling ?
Quote:
 
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justalayman

Senior Member
**** legally if he files compalin with township and law suite would i be responsible to pay his loss of rent. he is kind of con artist and would have fake agreement from his friends or who ever that due to damaged driveway couple of tenants denied to rent his property and loss of rental income ?
If you were the cause of the loss of rent, yes. As it is, it seems the GC for your build would have more liability than you in this.

$10K escrow he will hold, and if the damage is repaired by May 31st he will return the $10K to me.
Ya, right. And the Easter bunny left those little "smart pills" on your lawn last Sunday too. Just fix the darn drive and tell him to stuff the rest.

if not he also mantioned that it will cost me more if i don't pay 2 mths mortgage and $10K escrow
He can only get what he is legally entitled to and so far I doubt he is legally entitled to anything other than the drive repair.

If i deny to pay 2mt mortgage and $10K escrow he will hire an attorney to sue me Would i be responsible for his attorney's fees ??
Depends where he sues you. If he is talking about $10k he wonlt be able to sue you in small claims court. If he would win in a higher court, he may be entitled to his legal expenses. In small claims court, you usually are not able to collect them.
would my township hold the construction of my home till his driveway is repaired ?

I would doubt it but they may have osme way to do it.

you said they may have some way to do it ?? can you pl. clarify they may have some way to stop my construction ?? or some way to help me get the construcion rolling ?
Quote:
Can't really clarify it much. Basically I cannot think of a way for township to delay the construction. I cannot say for sure because I do not know your specific township ordinances or how good of a friend your neighbor is with the building inspector. Can it be legally delayed? Who knows. Can they slow you up as a favor to a friend? Easily done if they want to.

Bottom line; you, or the GC fix the drive (if allowed). If not, have the neighbor send you a bill for the repair and pay it. Other than that, I would meet him in court before I gave him anything else.
 

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