Claim by Neil PitmanTHE CITY OF
DUBUQUE MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
BARRY LINDAHL
CITY ATTORNEY
To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: May 22, 2008
RE: Claim Against the City of Dubuque by Neil Pitman
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Neil Pitman 05/19/08 04/25/08 Property Damage
This is a claim in which the claimant alleges that due to a rainstorm that occurred on
April 25, 2008, a sewer backed up causing water damage in claimant's basement
located at 1144 Rosedale Avenue.
This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa
Communities Assurance Pool.
BAL:tIs
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
John Klostermann, Street & Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Neil Pitman
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DUBUQUE, IOWA
SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001-6944
TELEPHONE (563) 583-4113 /FAX (563) 583-1040 / EMAIL balesq@cityofdubuque.org
CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF
DUBUQUE, IOWA
CC: MVM
Barry-
John Klosterman
This written report constitutes your claim against the City of Dubuque, Iowa. You
should complete this form in full and attach any additional information that
supports your claim.
The claim must be filed with the City Clerk at City Hall, 50 West 13th St.,
Dubuque, IA 52001. It will then be referred to the appropriate department for
investigation and to the City Attorney's Office. Once that investigation is
completed, a report and recommendation will be submitted to the City Council.
You will be provided with a copy of that report and recommendation.
The final decision on all claims is made by the City Council. No employee of the
City of Dubuque has the authority to make any representation to you as to
whether your claim will or will not be paid.
1. Name of Claimant: Neil and Beth Pitman
2. Address: 1144 Rosedale Avenue
3. Telephone Number: 563-588-0871, 563-580-7668
4. Date of Incident: Friday, April 25th
5. Time of Incident: Between 1 and 3 pm
6. Location of Incident (Be specific): The basement of our residence, 1144
Rosedale
7. Describe the accident or occurrence that caused injury or damage. (Give full
details upon which you base your claim. If a City employee was involved, give
the employee's name.):
Our basement received approximately 6 inches of waste and water as a
result of the city's sanitary sewer backing up.
8. What were weather conditions like?
Thunderstorm
9. Give name and address of any witnesses:
N/A
RECEIVED
08 MAY 19 PM 12:49
City Clerk's Office
Dubuque, IA
10. Did police investigate? (If so, give names of officers.)
No.
11. Was anyone injured? (If so, give names, addresses, and extent of injuries.)
No.
12. Was any damage done to property? (If so, describe property and the extent
of damages. Attach estimates of damages or describe basis for ascertaining
extent of damage.)
Yes. Due to the fact that the sewage is toxic, any items that came into
contact with it either had to be disinfected or destroyed. We tried to
salvage as much as possible, but some items were unable to be disinfected
due to their nature.
• Professional cleaning and sanitizing by Service Master: $703.70
• Clothing: $200
• Dehumidifier: $100
• Electric Water Heater: $300
• Books: $75
• Floor (our basement floor was just redone (not by us), and now will
have to be painted again): $200
• Window air conditioner: $300
• Cleaning supplies: $33.93
13. What other damages do you claim, if any?
None.
14. Have you been compensated for any part or all of your claim by any
insurance company? (If so, give name and address of insurance company and
amount paid.)
No.
15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque?
$1912.63
16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is responsible?
This is the 2nd time in 9 months that we have had a sewer backup in our
basement. We just paid a large assessment to have our street redone,
including sewers. According to the City of Dubuque the problem with the
sewer backing up on Rosedale originates on West Locust. The City of
Dubuque has failed to maintain the sewer infrastructure adequately and
therefore is responsible for this damage.
17. Have you made any claim against anyone else for damages as a result of
this incident? (If yes, give name and address.)
No.
18. If the answer to Question 17 is yes, have you received any payment from that
source, and if so, in what amount?
N/A
Dated this 16th day of May, 2008.
(Signature)
Neil Pitman
(Print Name)
ServiceMASTER
Clean
ServiceMaster of the Key City
1845 Washington St
Dubuque, IA 52001-3662
(563) 557-1488
WAL*MART
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MANAGER REBECCA WOLF
( 816 ) 777 - 0607
ST1 5044 OP1 00000694 TE1 09 TR1 02342
TOTE BOX 007314981682 4.60 X
TOTE BOX 0073149815$2 4.60 X
GV BLEACH 068113163717 2.36 X
GV BLEACH 068113163717 2.36 X
18PK WASH 060638894265 3.92 X
PUREX 64 LD 002420004790 6.9? X
SPRAYER 068333321209 0.98 X
SCRUB SPONGE 002120047629 6.97 X
MC 2PK GLOVE 007039400237 1.22 X
SUBTOTAL 31.78
TAX 1 6.750 x 2.16
TOTAL 33.93
VISR TEND 33.93
ACCOUNT 16494
APPROVAL 1401215
TRANS ID -0008117618390837
VALIDATION -M269
PAYMENT SERVICE - E
CHANGE DUE 0.00
# ITEMS SOLD 9
TC1 6496 1739 3617 2970 0891
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04/26/08 12:10:60
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