Man sues Lavalette PSD for property damage

WAYNE – A Wayne County man is suing Lavalette Public Service District after he claims his driveway was damaged because of the installation of a water line.

E.L. Robinson, Inc. and Chojnacki Construction, Inc., were also named as defendants in the suit.

On Dec. 1, 2011, Chojnacki dug a ditch for a water line on James Crawford’s property at the direction of Lavalette PSD and E.L. Robinson, according to a complaint filed July 30 in Wayne Circuit Court.

Crawford claims soon after the ditch was dug, his heated blacktop driveway and hillside began to slip and the heated driveway stopped working.

On Dec. 16, Chojnacki poured cement and blacktop on Crawford’s driveway without his permission and caused significant damage to the driveway due to the quality of work, according to the suit.

Crawford claims the defendants were negligent in improperly digging the ditch for the water line, which caused his property to slip and his driveway to be damaged.

The defendants owed a duty to Crawford to perform the work in a manner that would not damage his property, and breached that duty by digging the ditch in a manner that caused the hillside and driveway to slip, according to the suit.

Crawford claims at no time did he give the defendants permission, nor did they have a right to pour the cement and blacktop onto his driveway.

The blacktop was poured in such a poor quality that Crawford’s driveway was no longer smooth, according to the suit.

Crawford is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is being represented by Gary L. Michels.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Darrell Pratt.

Wayne Circuit Court case number: 12-C-180