Claim by Neil PitmanTHE CITY OF
DUB TE MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TRACEY STECKLEIN
PARALEGAL
To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: July 28, 2010
RE: Claim Against the City of Dubuque by Neil Pitman
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Neil Pitman 07/27/10 07/23 & 07/24/10 Property Damage
This is a claim in which claimant alleges that due to heavy rainfall which occurred on
July 23 and 24, 2010, claimant's basement received approximately 12 inches of waste
and water as a result of the city's sanitary sewer backing up on West Locust Street,
which in turn caused the sewers to back up onto Rosedale Avenue.
This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa
Communities Assurance Pool.
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
John Klostermann, Street & Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
Bob Green, Water Department Manager
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 tsteckle @cityofdubuque.org
CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
1197e)
o'er
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 13 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, JuIy23rd and Saturday, July 24th
5. Time of Incident: 3 am — 11 am Friday and 4:14 am — 8:15 am Saturday
6. Location of Incident (Be specific): The basement of our residence, 1144
Rosedale Avenue.
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 12 inches of waste and water as a
result of the city's sanitary sewer backing up on West Locust Street, which
in turn caused the sewers to back up onto Rosedale Avenue.
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8. What were weather conditions like?
Thunderstorm /Rain
9. Give name and address of any witnesses:
N/A
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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. Here is an itemized list of the damage and resultant monetary claims
for this incident.
• Purchased submersible sump pump and tubing in order to pump out
basement before the City resolved the problem in order to keep
water from rising any higher.
o $157.14
• Deep freezer destroyed
o $300.00
• Food in freezer destroyed
o $250.00
• Clothing destroyed
o $200.00
• Dehumidifier destroyed
o $100.00
• Electric water heater destroyed
o $300.00
• Christmas decorations destroyed
o $50.00
• CDs destroyed
o $300.00
• Paint damage to floor and walls
o $200.00
• Lost wages
o $158.30
• Labor
o $750.00
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?
$2765.44
16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is responsible?
This is the 3rd time that we have had a sewer backup result in water in our
basement. We paid a very large assessment to the City of Dubuque have
our street redone, including sewers. Numerous times the City of Dubuque
has conceded that 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 has been negligent in their efforts to
correct a known problem, therefore is responsible for this damage.
The City of Dubuque has set precedent by admitting fault for previous
sewer backups on Rosedale, settling claims for us for incidents that
occurred July 18 2007 and April 25 2008. Both of these prior incidents
were cases of heavy rainfall as well.
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 27th day of July, 2010.
(Signature)
Neil Pitman
(Print Name)