wrote in message
oups.com...
Putting an addition on our house in Virginia and we had miss utility
come out and mark. They did and all was fine. Then we hit the power
line running to our house which had not been marked.

The repair people said that they would take care of the relocation
costs and it's better for us that they missed it because they would
have to pay for it. Now I get a call this morning from Dominion
Virginia power suggesting that "since we would have had to move the
line anyway" they are going to be sending us a bill.

Anyone know of the legal issues involved here or any policies regarding
miss utility screwups?

It's like $5k to move and rebury the line...

The court cases I have been involved in Miss Utility Locates and damage
claims by utility companies have always been
ruled by the judge in favor of the contractor who cut the utility when it
was not located properly and the contractor did the work
within the time frame of the location request. If the locator marks it wrong
or neglects to mark a utility line, it is the fault of the
locator contractor for Miss Utility and they are the ones responsible for
costs if incurred depending on their contracts with the utility
companies..
Now, as to what you were told by Dominion's repair people, I would contact
Dominion and advise them of what had been told
to you by their repairmen and advise them you will see them in court. Talk
to someone other than a clerk. Ask specifically for a manager
and advise them also as to what you were told by the repair forces on the
job site, You are going to file a complaint with the state regulatory
commission and proceed to do so. With telco complaints if was the FCC.
Let the judge decide if you have to pay the bill or not. Write down all the
information you can as you remember it, who said what, when, get the names
of the repair crew from Dominion if you can, you should be able to get that
information and go from there. You have nothing to loose and
everything to gain. Usually these claims are heard by the judge in front of
their honor's bench, With the judge asking each side what happened and them
presenting their evidence, witness statements, cost statements, etc. In your
case, the repairmen's statements to you.
I would not think a lawyer for this would be much and personally I would go
before the judge without that added expense, but you should do what ever is
comfortable for you.
My experience-- Retired Cable Maintenance Tech Verizon 32 years
CC