Facts

The plaintiff claimed that as a result of excavation done on July 22, 2005 by defendant American Wrecking Inc., their cable lines were damaged. The damages required the cable lines to be repaired, resulting in damages in the amount of $24,973. The plaintiff's sole cause of action was in negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended that the defendant failed to take it upon themselves to make sure that there were no subsurface installations in the area where defendant was going to be excavating.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant contended that it provided timely and proper statutory notice to the regional notification center, in this case, Dig Alert. When no one from any entity, including Time Warner Cable Inc., or any of its agents, marked any of its subsurface installations within the allotted time and prior to the excavation, defendant had no reason to believe that there were any subsurface installations in the area where it would be excavating and proceeded to excavate.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff claimed damages in the amount of $24,973. The defendant did not make any offers.

Result

The defendant's summary judgment was granted, and statutory costs were awarded. The court found that the fact that subsurface installations were discovered upon performing the excavation is not the fault of defendant, since it complied with its statutory obligations in providing notice.

Other Information

FILING DATE: June 12, 2007.