Claim of Charles H. Burkart
? .
BARRY A. LINDAHL, E
CORPORATION COUNSEL
.
MEMO
0 oJ:)
\.0
O~- ::J:: :0
::>
C (') -< m
u 0~ N 0
,-
15 /, m
C ,.,. :;p.. <
CD v.
-,..
0 -- f11
)> ~ co 0
0-
co N
+"
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan
and members of the City Council
Date:
May 20, 1999
Re:
Claim of Charles H. Burkart
Cla~t Date of Cla~ Date of Loss Nature of Cla~
Charles H. Burkart 5/3/99 4/25/99 property damage
This is a claim for reimbursement of cleaning expenses
allegedly incurred as a result of a sewer backup at the claimant's
home on Mineral Street.
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 Street\Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
John L. Klostermann, the City has had problems with this line, but
repairs have been made to improve the service. Based upon lack of
any prior knowledge of the defect that gave rise to this claim, Mr.
Klostermann recommends denial of the claim. The Legal Department
concurs in that recommendation.
BAL/cg
Attachment
cc - Mr. Don Vogt
cc - Mr. John Klostermann
cc - Mr. Charles H. Burkart
196 CVCARE PI.AZA DUllllQIl" IOWA 52001
TELE 319 583-4113 FAX 319 583-\040
e-mail balesq@mwci.net
r
" .
(
Operations & Maintenance
Department
925 Kerper Blvd.
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-2338
Phone (319) 589-4250
FAX (319) 589-4252
DUB~E
~~~
#
May 7,1999
Carol Gulick
Legal Department
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001-4864
Dear Carol:
The purpose of this letter is to respond to the claim filed by Charles H. Burkhart.
Our records show that on Friday, April 30th at 6:00PM we were notified by the police
dispatch center of a possible sewer problem at 2565 Mineral Street. The crew arrived
at 6:30PM and found that the main line that serves Mr. Burkhart's home was plugged.
After several attempts to clean the line, it was determined that the line had collapsed
and would require excavating to make the proper repair. A pump was set for the night
to relieve basement flooding at 2565 and 2575 and restore service to all homes on this
line. The line was dug and repaired on Saturday, May 1 st.
In the past we have had a history of problems with this line, but repairs have been
made to improve service. Our records show that the last call we had for service was in
January of 1997 and that was due to a private service that was plugged. Therefore, it is
my recommendation to deny the claim due to the lack of any prior knowledge of this
recent pipe defect.
If you need any additional information, feel free to contact me at 589-4250.
Sincerely,
?h/uAfks~~
j/t,n Klostermann
Street/Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
JLK:vle
Service
People
Integrity
Responsibility
Innovation
Teamwork