Claim by Robert & Aurora Merritt 3 4 09r
THE CITY OF
DUB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
MEMORANDUM
TRACEY STECKLEIN ~'/~
PARALEGAL C~
To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: March 10, 2009
RE: Claim Against the City of Dubuque by the Robert & Aurora Merritt
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Robert & Aurora Merritt 03/04/09 01/26/09 Property Damage
This is a claim in which claimants allege that the basement of their residence located at
2350 Hempstead Street sustained water damage due to a water main break on Lowell
Street.
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
Bob Green, Water Department Manager
Robert & Aurora Merritt
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 tsteckle@cityofdubuque.org
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This written report constitutes your claim against the City of Dubuque, Iowa: You
should complete this farm 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 13t" 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 tr you as to
whether your claim will or will not be paid.
1. Name of Claimant: ~, .~~' ° ~ r~ ~°°° m m ~ . ~"~ ,
2. Address: _ t7
3. Telephone Number
4. Date of Incident:
5. Time of Incident:
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6. Location of Incident (B sped 'c):
7. Describe the accident or occurrence that caused injury ar damage. (Give full
details upon which you base your claim. If a City employee was involved, give
the employee's nom )
8. What were weather conditions like?
9. Give name and address of any_witnesses:
10. Did police investigate? (If so, give names of officers.)
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11. Was anyone injured? (If so, give names, addresses, and extent of injuries).
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.)
13. What other damages do you claim, if any?
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.)
15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque?
16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is responsible?
.
17. Have you made any claim against anyone else for damages as a result of
this incident? (If yes, give name and address.)
18. If the answer to Question 17 is yes, have you received any payment from that
source, and if so, in what amount?
Dated this day of /®f'! , 20 ® / .
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(Signature) r
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(Print Name)
1. Robert J. and Aurora L. Merritt
2. 2350 Hempstead Street
3. Home: 556-6767, Cell: 564-1604
4. DaTE OF Incident: January 26, 2009
5. Time of incident: 5:00 AM
6. Location of Incident: Basement of residence.
7. Description of incident: At 5:00 AM on January 26, 2009,
Robert heard gurgling sounds coming from the basement.
He and Aurora went into the basement where they found a
large quantity of muddy water gushing from the toilet,
bathroom floor drain and laundry room floor drain. Aurora
made a call to the police dispatcher requesting they contact
the city water department and declaring the situation and
emergency. Within 15 minutes there was nearly 3 feet of
water covering the entire basement, so Aurora called 911
requesting emergency aid from the Fire Department. At
5:30 AM Firemen from the 32"d Street Station arrived and
looked over the situation. A small pump was placed at the
bottom of the stairs in water that was nearly 3 and a half feet
deep. Hoses were attached and water was pumped out into
the driveway. At approximately 8 AM the water stopped
coming into the house. Firemen advised us to NOT go into
water to try to save possessions. 8:30 AM a City Water Dept.
person looked in from the top of the stairs, handed a camera
down to one of the Firemen, borrowed a pen to write a brief
note and left.
8. Weather conditions: 20 degrees was the high for that day.
9.
10.
11.
12.Was any damage done to property? Describe property
and the extent of damages.
Furnace, total loss; Water heater, total loss; toilet, total loss;
Washer, Dryer, Chest Freezer, total loss; Space heater, total
loss; Wet/Dry vac., total loss; 6X8 area rug, total loss;
Dehumidifer, total loss; 5X3 Oak dining table, total loss,
computer desk with shelves, TV stand, 13 inch TV, total loss.
Sewing desk, 44"X24", with 4 drawers and contents, total
loss; Hutch, 3 lower drawers, drop desk, 3 upper shelves
with glass doors, total loss; Stero cabinet, hand crafted,
Yamaha Amplifier, receiver with cassette player and 30
Albums in a collection, total loss.
Holmes air purifier, Black & Decker corded drill and bits,
total loss.
25 Craft books, total loss; 13 Little Golden Books from 1955-
1960, total loss.
Beanie Baby Collection from 1995, 1996, 1997,
approximately 100 beanies, total loss.
Fabrics stored in 2 56 gallon containers, total loss; Yarns
stored in large Rubbermaid container, total loss; 56 spools
of thread, total loss.
Flannel hand made quilt and cotton quilt panels, total loss.
Carpeting on stairs, paneling on room division walls, storage
cupboards built in to east wall, total loss; 3 doors, total loss.
Video media, VHS tapes, books, board games ,electronics
(list inclosed), total loss.
Basis of ascertaining extent of damage: 4 feet of water filled
entire basement for over 5 hours; when the water finally was
drained away, thick, clay mud and sand and bacteria
covered all items listed.
13. What other damages do you claim? The charges from
ServiceMaster for removal, cleaning, disinfecting, etc.
Cost to replace driveway and basement structures.
14. Allied Insurance Company, $5,000.
15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque?
$26,197.16 plus $15,000 to cover costs to replace driveway
and basement structures, for a total of $41,197.16.
16.
7.
18.
Dated this fourth day of March, 2009.