septic field encroachment of property line

[Elizabeth]

I own a vacant lot where I hope to build a house in 5 years. When the owners of the lot next to us built their house the contractor placed the septic field so that two feet of the slope is on our property. There was no fence on the property line at the time so when we called the county health department (who approves septic tanks in Florida) to tell them that the septic field was encroaching, they told us that the neighbors survey showed that it did not. We then paid to have the property line re-surveyed (we surveyed it when we purchased it in 97) and sure enough, the new survey showed an encroachment of two feet by 40 feet long. Now the county believes us and is making the neighbors move their septic over or build a retaining border, at least that is what the county told us. My question is, can I recover the $150 it cost me to have my property re-surveyed? If so, who would pay for it?

Also, during construction of their house, their contractor used out lot as a driveway and to bring in heavy equiment, creating big ruts and making the ground uneven. We wrote him and told him we expected the ruts to be filled but he ignored us. Do I have a way to recover the work it has cost me to repair the ruts? What about their trespassing?
I'll probably just drop that one altogether, but I would like to get my $150 back for that survey.

Thanks for your response.

 

[Tracey]

You can sue them both in small claims court for tresspass. Your damages are the $150 survey fee and reasonable compensation for the time and money you spent filling in the ruts yourself. You get to sue the neighbors for both items, since the construction company was their agent. You can sue the constr. co. too.

However, this will take lots of your time and emotional energy and will destroy your relationship with your neighbors. You don't stand to gain much $$, and angry neighbors can make your life hell. Think long and hard before you sue them. You might just invite them over for coffee and politely ask if they would pay for 1/2 the survey since they DID encroach on your land. Point out that they may even be able to recover their costs of moving the spetic system from their survey company. If they say no, drop it - you've already gotten the big remedy you wanted.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.

[This message has been edited by Tracey (edited May 28, 2000).]

 

[Elizabeth]

Tracey,
thank you for responding to my question, I did not expect anything back so soon, and on Sunday! You are right, I'll probably just forget about it and not make enemies of my future neighbors.

One more question, what is a reasonable time for them to fix the encroachment? 1-3 months? 3-6 months? Thanks again,


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tracey:
You can sue them both in small claims court for tresspass. Your damages are the $150 survey fee and reasonable compensation for the time and money you spent filling in the ruts yourself. You get to sue the neighbors for both items, since the construction company was their agent. You can sue the constr. co. too.

However, this will take lots of your time and emotional energy and will destroy your relationship with your neighbors. You don't stand to gain much $$, and angry neighbors can make your life hell. Think long and hard before you sue them. You might just invite them over for coffee and politely ask if they would pay for 1/2 the survey since they DID encroach on your land. Point out that they may even be able to recover their costs of moving the spetic system from their survey company. If they say no, drop it - you've already gotten the big remedy you wanted.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[Tracey]

The reasonable response time is however long the county gave them to fix the drainage field.

On another note, you might record your survey on both parcels of land. This way, future purchasors of either property know exactly where the property line is. Talk to your county recorder about how to do this.

------------------
This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.