QUESTION
Is it possible to recover those expenses from the city due to their negligence?
Asked on Jan 08th, 2013 on Bankruptcy - Nebraska
More details to this question:
Our property has a driveway easement through the neighbor's yard in front of us. While our house was unoccupied (was for sale, owner had died) the city gave a building permit to the neighbor, and he built his house on our easement, thus taking away our driveway. The neighbor had told the city he was going to give our property a new easement elsewhere, but never did, and the city still gave him a certificate of occupancy. It cost us a significant amount ($18,000) to fight the neighbor in court to get another driveway. While we were successful in court, we are out that money. Is it possible to recover those expenses from the city due to their negligence in not only giving him a permit to build on top of this easement, but a certificate of occupancy also?
3 ANSWERS
Insurance Attorney serving Redlands, CA
at
Orrock, Popka, Tucker & Dolen
Update Your Profile
Possible but unlikely. There are various specific prerequisites for making a claim against a government entity. Failure to do it correctly can be fatal to your claim. There are also many immunities that protect government entities from claims.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2013 at 4:06 PM
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Winston-Salem, NC
at
Love and Dillenbeck Law
Update Your Profile
Most likely not. The city is not at fault for giving out the building permit...the owner is at fault for blocking the easement. An easement does not prevent the granting of a permit...it is up to the owner to act responsibly in which he/she didn't.? On top of that governments have immunity from many lawsuits and this sounds like one of those matters.? You should call a real property attorney to get a second opinion Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note? II
Answered on Jan 11th, 2013 at 4:06 PM
2 Awards
The negligence claim would be quite difficult and you would need to bring a notice of tort claim against the City within 180 days from the event. An alternative strategy may be to assert that the City's actions amounted to an inverse or regulatory taking for which you have not been compensated. The statute of limitations on such a claim is generally 10 years.
Answered on Jan 11th, 2013 at 4:05 PM