Claim of Donald V. Brimeyer
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J
BARRY A. LINDAHL,
CORPORATION COUNSEL
l.
MEMO
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan
and members of the City Council
Date:
November 30, 1999
Re:
Claim of Donald V. Brimeyer
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Donald V. Brimeyer 11/4/99 9/16/99 reimbursement of
expenses
This is a claim for reimbursement of expenses the claimant
sustained as a result of a sewer backup at his home on Merfeld
Lane.
Under Iowa law, a city is not the insurer of the condition of
its sewers, and is only liable if it is negligent. The City's duty
is to exercise reasonable care to keep its sewers free from
defects. Before a city is liable for damage caused by a sewer
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 John L. Klostermann, Street\Sewer
Maintenance Supervisor, the sewer backup was caused by a plugged
main line resulting from tree roots. Mr. Klostermann indicates
that the City had no prior history of this problem with this line.
In the absence of actual knowledge or constructive notice of the
defect in time to have repaired it prior to the incident causing
damage, Mr. Klostermann recommends that the claim be denied. The
Legal Department concurs with that recommendation.
BAL/cg/Enclosure
cc - Mr. Don Vogt
cc Mr. John Klostermann
cc Mr. Donald V. Brimeyer
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e-mail balesq{@mwci.net
"
Operations & Maintenance
Department
925 Kerper Blvd.
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-2338
Phone (319) 589-4250
FAX (319) 589-4252
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November 23, 1999
Barry Lindahl
Corporation Counsel
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque IA 52004-4864
Dear Barry:
The purpose of this letter is to respond to the sewer claim filed by Donald Brimeyer on
November 7, 1999.
On September 16th we were notified at 6:25PM of a possible sewer problem with the
line that serves Mr. Brimeyer's home. A sewer crew arrived at 6:50PM and found that
our main line was plugged. The line was opened and service restored in a short period
of time. It appeared that the cause of the blockage was roots.
Our records show that we have no prior history of problems with this line and it is my
recommendation to deny this claim due to the lack of prior knowledge.
If you need any additional information concerning this claim, please contact me.
Sincerely,
~:.~~:~
Street/Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Service
People
Integrity
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