Chuck Minnick Claim
BARRY A. LINDAHL.
CORPORATION COUNSEL
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan
and members of the City Council
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MEMO
Date:
June 14, 2000
Re:
Claim of Chuck Minnick
Claimant
Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Chuck Minnick
5/3/00 4/28/00 motorcycle damage
This is a claim for damages to the claimant's motorcycle,
which it sustained when loose sand left over from street repairs
caused the motorcycle to slide and tip over.
Under Iowa law, a city is not the insurer of the condition of
its streets, and is only liable if it is negligent. The City's
duty is to exercise reasonable care to keep its streets free from
defects. Before a city is liable for damage caused by a street
defect, the city must have had actual knowledge or constructive
notice of the defect, with sufficient time to have repaired it
prior to the incident causing damage. Actual knowledge occurs when
the city is actually aware of the defect; constructive notice
occurs when the defect has existed for such a period of time that
a reasonable person would have discovered it.
According to the report of Street\Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
John Klostermann, his records show that the City received notice of
a gas company excavation at that location that washed out on April
19, 2000. The City responded by placing barricades at the site
until the Engineering Department could notify the gas company and
repairs were made. Our barricades were removed on April 21st after
the repair had been made.
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Mr. Klostermann further indicates that from the time the
barricades were removed until the date of the accident, the City
did not receive any complaints concerning the condition of the
street. It is therefore his recommendation that this claim be
denied due to lack of any prior knowledge of the defect. The Legal
Department concurs with his recommendation.
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Enclosure
cc - Mr. Don Vogt
cc - Mr. John Klostermann
cc - Mr. Chuck Minnick
Operations & Maintenance
Department
925 Kerper Blvd.
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-2338
Phone (319) 589-4250
FAX (319) 589-4252
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June 1, 2000
Barry Lindahl
Corporation Counsel
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52004-4864
Dear Barry:
This letter will respond to the claim filed by Mr. Chuck Minnick on May 1, 2000.
Mr. Minnick claims damage to his motorcycle when it tipped over due to loose sand left
over from street repair at the intersection of Montrose Terrace and Loras Boulevard.
I am not aware of any city maintenance projects in that area during the time of the
incident. However, our records do show that we received notice of a gas company
excavation at that location that washed out on April 19, 2000. After we received this
notice we placed barricades on the excavation until the engineering department could
notify the gas company and repairs made. We removed the barricades on April 21,
2000 after the repair had been made. From the time the barricades were removed until
the date of the accident we did not receive any complaints concerning the condition of
the street. Therefore it is my recommendation to deny this claim due to the lack of any
prior knowledge of this defect.
If you need any additional information concerning this claim, please contact me.
S?!h4'~W~,-
J;t Klostermann
StreeUSewer Maintenance Supervisor
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