What is the name of your state?
Michigan
Over a week ago, we had to have a new well put on our property. The only location the Health Department would allow it, we could not access through our property. The lot next to my house is vacant. A woman owns it but lives out of town. She comes once a month to mow her lawn and clean up the property. My husband and I had no way of contacting her and after asking a few neighbors they had no idea either. We had talked to her a few times and got along with her pretty well. Thinking she wouldnt mind, my husband gave the well drillers permission to drive on her land.
The well was put in and there was some minor damage done to her land due to the ground being wet and the heavy trucks getting stuck. My husband does road construction and was planning on fixing it this weekend (he works out of town all week). She came to the property the other day and when I approached her to explain the situation she proceeded to swear at me and get extremely irate. I believe she completely overreacted and didnt even give me a chance to speak. She insisted that she talk to my husband and that he call her right away. She gave me specific time periods in which he could call and that he call her before Friday (this was Wednesday). I did inform her that we were planning on repairing the property this weekend. She said that she wanted it professionally landscaped and that she would contact the landscaper. If we didnt pay the bill, she would sue us. (75% of the "damaged" land was weeds and thorn bushes, hardly any grass areas where harmed)
My husband tried many times to call her, that night twice, and once on Thursday. He left messages for her and she never called back.
When I got home from work on Friday she had posted many no trespassing signs on the land. My husband got home shortly after and went to speak with her (not going on the land). She told him that he was not to go on her land or she would press charges. He asked to see the damage and she refused (he has never seen the "damage" that was done on her land). She had a landscaper at the site that my husband managed to speak with after he quoted for repair. He quoted her $1000.00 at least. He refused to tell my husband what the repairs they planned to do were but that she did have to get 3 quotes.
My husband tried to approach her to ask what her plans were for repair and she literally jumped in her car a sped off. You could hear her tires peal inside my house. We are trying to be civil but she is refusing to even try to come to a reasonable conclusion to this other than court.
I dont feel that it is fair we should have to pay for damages that we cant even look at (I have seen them but not my husband who knows about these things). For all we know they are giving her an entire new lawn when she previously and still does have weeds in the "damaged" areas.
Please give me any advice that you can. I dont feel that it is fair we should have to pay for someone to do the work when my husband does this for a living and we are more than willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problem to HER standards.
Thank you so much.
I posted this on the Small Claims Court Forum also, but thought it might be a good idea to post here too.
Michigan
Over a week ago, we had to have a new well put on our property. The only location the Health Department would allow it, we could not access through our property. The lot next to my house is vacant. A woman owns it but lives out of town. She comes once a month to mow her lawn and clean up the property. My husband and I had no way of contacting her and after asking a few neighbors they had no idea either. We had talked to her a few times and got along with her pretty well. Thinking she wouldnt mind, my husband gave the well drillers permission to drive on her land.
The well was put in and there was some minor damage done to her land due to the ground being wet and the heavy trucks getting stuck. My husband does road construction and was planning on fixing it this weekend (he works out of town all week). She came to the property the other day and when I approached her to explain the situation she proceeded to swear at me and get extremely irate. I believe she completely overreacted and didnt even give me a chance to speak. She insisted that she talk to my husband and that he call her right away. She gave me specific time periods in which he could call and that he call her before Friday (this was Wednesday). I did inform her that we were planning on repairing the property this weekend. She said that she wanted it professionally landscaped and that she would contact the landscaper. If we didnt pay the bill, she would sue us. (75% of the "damaged" land was weeds and thorn bushes, hardly any grass areas where harmed)
My husband tried many times to call her, that night twice, and once on Thursday. He left messages for her and she never called back.
When I got home from work on Friday she had posted many no trespassing signs on the land. My husband got home shortly after and went to speak with her (not going on the land). She told him that he was not to go on her land or she would press charges. He asked to see the damage and she refused (he has never seen the "damage" that was done on her land). She had a landscaper at the site that my husband managed to speak with after he quoted for repair. He quoted her $1000.00 at least. He refused to tell my husband what the repairs they planned to do were but that she did have to get 3 quotes.
My husband tried to approach her to ask what her plans were for repair and she literally jumped in her car a sped off. You could hear her tires peal inside my house. We are trying to be civil but she is refusing to even try to come to a reasonable conclusion to this other than court.
I dont feel that it is fair we should have to pay for damages that we cant even look at (I have seen them but not my husband who knows about these things). For all we know they are giving her an entire new lawn when she previously and still does have weeds in the "damaged" areas.
Please give me any advice that you can. I dont feel that it is fair we should have to pay for someone to do the work when my husband does this for a living and we are more than willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problem to HER standards.
Thank you so much.
I posted this on the Small Claims Court Forum also, but thought it might be a good idea to post here too.