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Damage to building

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TreyP.

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I own a small automobile repair business, and my building was damaged late last year. I have a dumpster provided by a local disposal company, and they empty it weekly. I came to work one morning and found the dumpster smashed into a section of wooden fence at the end of my building, and the corner of the building next to it was smashed in as well. It looked to me like the driver who empties the dumpster must have lost control of it while emptying it. These things happen.

My landlord called the company and reported it (I lease the building), and later that day they sent their 'safety office' out to do a report. I only spoke with him briefly. He told me he "didn't even know if their truck had been there that morning." After he left, I phoned my landlord to tell her what had been said. She said, "that's crazy, I talked to him on the phone an hour ago and he said they realized the driver hit the fence but didn't believe he hit the building."

The building had to be repaired right away, as someone could climb thru the hole in the wall and get into my shop. I paid a contractor $2500 and the repairs were completed over the next 2 days. After a couple days of my calls not being returned by the disposal company, I filed a police report for leaving the scene of an accident. Ultimately, the detective determined it to be a civil matter since the damage was caused by a dumpster and not an automobile.

I filed suit in small claims court and began exchanging emails with the disposal company's attorney. He informed me that they were denying that their truck had been there that morning and had GPS logs to prove it.

Here's what I have: 1.A witness who works at the restaurant next door who saw their truck on the property that morning but didn't see the damage occur. He is coming to court with me. The restaurant also uses the same disposal company's service. Just last month, a truck came out to empty their dumpster and hit the awning of their building, in the middle of the day. Dozens of people witnessed this. The owner of the restaurant was there and he went and spoke with the driver and got his name. When he called to report the incident, he was told that no driver by that name was working for them that day, and that their GPS reports indicated that their truck was not there that day. Crazy. Within a few days, they contacted him and said they'd made a mistake and took care of it. There was much less damage to the restaurant than there was to my building. The owner of the restaurant is coming with me as a witness because I believe it is very relevant to my case that they immediately said they hadn't been there.

Also, my landlord is coming to court to testify as to what she was told by the safety officer originally.I have all the photos and receipts, etc. Oh did I mention, court is tomorrow! Just wanted to get some opinions if I could. Please ask me any questions you might have about further details and let me know what you think. Thank you very much.
 


racer72

Senior Member
1.A witness who works at the restaurant next door who saw their truck on the property that morning but didn't see the damage occur.
That would be considered hearsay and is not admissible as evidence. If no one saw the damage happen, you don't have a legitimate witness.

I don't see you having a case against the garbage company, you don't own the building. Your landlord might have a case though. You should seek reimbursement from your landlord and let that person deal with the garbage company.
 

TreyP.

Junior Member
Thanks for your response. I understand. I wanted to point out that the disposal company maintains that they were not on the property that day. My witness says they were. Is that not going to help my case? Also, the dumpster made impact twice, against the building and the fence. Meaning that it couldn't have been hit by a vehicle because it was literally lifted up and moved again after the first impact. Will the judge not consider that? I understand that it's all about proof and facts, but doesn't common sense have to factor in as well?
 

racer72

Senior Member
If I was the judge I would dismiss the case, the plaintiff does not have standing in the case. The damaged property does not belong to you.
 

TreyP.

Junior Member
I won! I just got back! They have 21 days to appeal in County Court. I don't believe they will. Me not owning the building was a non-issue. The dumpster company has a contract with me, not the landlord. It was never even mentioned. They had all their GPS logs there, their IT tech guy, the driver, their safety officer, and their attorney. The judge believed me more credible. It was awesome, the big guy didn't beat the little guy for once.
 

TreyP.

Junior Member
That would be considered hearsay and is not admissible as evidence. If no one saw the damage happen, you don't have a legitimate witness.
Wow, you missed that one by a mile. His testimony was what swayed the judge's decision, the judge even said so. Believed him over the GPS logs and driver logs that stated the truck was not there. My case was solid and well laid out, but his testimony was the deal sealer. You're a lawyer?
 

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
Small claims does not strictly follow the rules of evidence and sometimes likes to admit testimony that might otherwise be objectionable. That said, your witness' testimony was not hearsay.

Congrats on the win, and thanks for the update.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
That would be considered hearsay and is not admissible as evidence. If no one saw the damage happen, you don't have a legitimate witness.

I don't see you having a case against the garbage company, you don't own the building. Your landlord might have a case though. You should seek reimbursement from your landlord and let that person deal with the garbage company.
That is NOT hearsay. That is testimony of what the person saw which was the truck on the property. How do you believe that is hearsay? And it is admissible. Why do you believe it is not? The witness cannot testify about what MIGHT have happened but the witness can testify about seeing the truck on the property. You are wrong quite frankly. Small claims cases are NOT based on beyond a reasonable doubt.
 

racer72

Senior Member
Wow, you missed that one by a mile. His testimony was what swayed the judge's decision, the judge even said so. Believed him over the GPS logs and driver logs that stated the truck was not there. My case was solid and well laid out, but his testimony was the deal sealer. You're a lawyer?
Nope, someone that lost a case very similar to yours. If this case is appealed to a higher court, I would expect a much different decision.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Nope, someone that lost a case very similar to yours. If this case is appealed to a higher court, I would expect a much different decision.
testimony by a witness of what they saw is never hearsay. Since they are not testifying that they saw what actually caused the damage, not sure of the point even. All they were testifying to is they saw a truck owned by the trash hauler at the business that day. That testimony is used to overcome the claim by the company that nobody was there that day. The judge apparently accepted the witness testimony as true.




just a note on the GPS:

unless the witness gave a truck number or license plate number, the company could me made to prove they have GPS on every truck they own, they were all on and functional that day, and that no truck from the company was there that day. Otherwise the lack of a GPS record is meaningless. It doesn't matter if some particular truck typically runs that route and was not there that day. What matters is if any truck from that company was there that day. Heck, for all anybody knows, the regular truck was broke down and in the garage and a fill in truck or driver was there.
 

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