This past Tuesday TWC cable switched out a bad DVR box at my home, and
ran a new temporary above ground cable, approx 200 feet from the street
to my house. The technician told me via phone ( I was not there at the
time) that he set up a to have a new cable buried next Wednesday the
26th. I instructed him that I wouldn't allow any digging, and I didn't
want the cable installed, as I have several old growth trees along the
digging path within 5- 15 feet.....incidentally, I was never given a
reason as to why I needed a new cable- my service has been great!

So, I'm out of town for vacation later that afternoon, through
today(Sunday the 23rd) and return home to find the trench cut, cable
buried and filled. Several trees had root systems compromised- 80 -
100 foot trees that I'm interested in keeping around for a while. Heck,
I'd have spent plenty of money out of pocket to hand dig, and or
reroute the cable to avoid screwing up something that takes 80 years to
grow. Not to mention the trees die and I'm out $1000 minimum for
cutting and removal per tree. The cable was installed outside of the
easement.

What's my next step- (I will be calling an arborist to consult on the
damage as a starter)

porter wrote:
This past Tuesday TWC cable switched out a bad DVR box at my home, and
ran a new temporary above ground cable, approx 200 feet from the street
to my house. The technician told me via phone ( I was not there at the
time) that he set up a to have a new cable buried next Wednesday the
26th. I instructed him that I wouldn't allow any digging, and I didn't
want the cable installed, as I have several old growth trees along the
digging path within 5- 15 feet.....incidentally, I was never given a
reason as to why I needed a new cable- my service has been great!

So, I'm out of town for vacation later that afternoon, through
today(Sunday the 23rd) and return home to find the trench cut, cable
buried and filled. Several trees had root systems compromised- 80 -
100 foot trees that I'm interested in keeping around for a while. Heck,
I'd have spent plenty of money out of pocket to hand dig, and or
reroute the cable to avoid screwing up something that takes 80 years to
grow. Not to mention the trees die and I'm out $1000 minimum for
cutting and removal per tree. The cable was installed outside of the
easement.

What's my next step- (I will be calling an arborist to consult on the
damage as a starter)

I seriously doubt that the trees were harmed. I had 600' of
underground telephone cable run to my house and it ran within 10'-12'
of a many large trees and not a one of them showed any damage. Trees
will suffer damage if a large area is disturbed, but a 2" trencher
should not cause permanent damage.
That said however, I would still raise hell with the cable company and
demand a record be made and kept on file for any "undisclosed damages".
Bob

Porter,

I have watched our local TWC bury cable on homeowners' lawns.
They slit-trench, which is much less invasive than having your
lawn core aerated. There is no need for dirt to be "filled" - none
is removed in the first place. It is a very slick, quick, nearly
benign operation. I would assume that your underground cable
was handled in the same manner.

BUT - TWC never should never have done the work without your
permission. I would certainly bitch over that. TWC seems to
love installing a new drop whenever a customer has a problem
with digital cable and/or high speed Internet service. I went
through the same situation 3 months ago and for the same reasons.
That new cable is still draped across my lawn due to my
persistence.

I informed the installer to not schedule burial since I will be
trenching the lawn this summer and I'd prefer to not cut through
a buried TWC drop. To be extra safe, I phoned TWC and informed
them that our back yard is fenced because several times per day
we just open the back door and release our two Dobes. TWC now
knocks on my front door before entering my property. I'm in their
computer as "the owner of attack dogs." A small but effective fib.

Always assume that the person you are dealing with is a moron
and take defensive measures. You won't regret it.

I feel fairly certain that your cable was slit-trenched, but you still
have the right to bitch at TWC. One month's free service should
be a reasonable compromise from your vantage point since you
really suffered no damage but TWC did ignore your requests.

If they actually trenched and they did damage to well-established
trees, then you could have a serious legal issue. But you should
still realize that 80-100 foot, well-established, healthy trees are
generally very robust and often handle such trauma rather well.

The down side is the fact that non-trivial trauma to well-established
trees often won't manifest itself for many years. It is often difficult
to go to court in front of an ignorant judge and plead you case that
your trees may possibly show signs of distress 6 years from now.
The judge isn't an arborist and his "common sense" will often over-
ride any expert testimony from an trained professional. Sad but
true.

Good luck,
Gideon

===============

porter wrote in message
. com...
This past Tuesday TWC cable switched out a bad DVR box at my home, and
ran a new temporary above ground cable, approx 200 feet from the street
to my house. The technician told me via phone ( I was not there at the
time) that he set up a to have a new cable buried next Wednesday the
26th. I instructed him that I wouldn't allow any digging, and I didn't
want the cable installed, as I have several old growth trees along the
digging path within 5- 15 feet.....incidentally, I was never given a
reason as to why I needed a new cable- my service has been great!

So, I'm out of town for vacation later that afternoon, through
today(Sunday the 23rd) and return home to find the trench cut, cable
buried and filled. Several trees had root systems compromised- 80 -
100 foot trees that I'm interested in keeping around for a while. Heck,
I'd have spent plenty of money out of pocket to hand dig, and or
reroute the cable to avoid screwing up something that takes 80 years to
grow. Not to mention the trees die and I'm out $1000 minimum for
cutting and removal per tree. The cable was installed outside of the
easement.

What's my next step- (I will be calling an arborist to consult on the
damage as a starter)

The cable is probably not deep enough to harm the enough of the surface
root system, but if you are in a drought watering will help. I would
bet weed killer and other things hurt your trees more. If they cut 6ft
down then you would have real reason to be concerned of future die off,
but at 15 ft it may be ok. Talk to an arborist, either way watering
during drought and heat helps old trees since maybe 40-60% of a trees
roots are near the surface. If I was you I would be mad at the cable
company.

More detail on the trenching work that was done- the trench was at
least 8 inches deep, and some places deeper. I hand excavated a few
areas and there were many roots cut. In my online research, I"ve
learned that 90 % of the roots are located in the first 12-18 inches,
and any trenching done in the root zone can cause serious damage. I
hit on some utility guidelines that specifically stated not to perform
trenching in the manner and scope that was performed in my yard. Young
trees are more likely to recover, these trees are mature.

My dilemna is when these trees die a slow death over the next 3 years,
then I have to pay for removal. Not to mention a few of them are in a
drop zone that can take out my children's bedrooms! I'm proactive in
removing sick trees- I've spent large to take out 5 trees over the past
few years that were risky.

porter wrote:
More detail on the trenching work that was done- the trench was at
least 8 inches deep, and some places deeper. I hand excavated a few
areas and there were many roots cut. In my online research, I"ve
learned that 90 % of the roots are located in the first 12-18 inches,
and any trenching done in the root zone can cause serious damage. I
hit on some utility guidelines that specifically stated not to perform
trenching in the manner and scope that was performed in my yard. Young
trees are more likely to recover, these trees are mature.

My dilemna is when these trees die a slow death over the next 3 years,
then I have to pay for removal. Not to mention a few of them are in a
drop zone that can take out my children's bedrooms! I'm proactive in
removing sick trees- I've spent large to take out 5 trees over the past
few years that were risky.


The only thing you can do at this point is to document everything.
Take lots of pictures of the condition of the trees and where the
trenching was done relative to the trees. Getting an arborist's
written report is an excellent idea too. If he says it may take X yrs
for the damage to the tree to become visible, make sure that goes in
the report. Notify the cable company in writing. Also take pictures
again at the same time of year for the next 3 years to document any
changes.

If the arborist gives advice that says something should be done now,
then have it done and notify the cable company that they should pay it.
Then it's a process of wait and see. Until you have proof of actual
damage to the tree, I don't think anything more can be done at this
point. I'd also check out the statute of limitations issue on a case
like this. It should be a least 3 years or so, which should give you
enough time.

8" is deep, but it depends on the species, only an arborist and more
resesarch will tell you how serious it might possibly be, it may not be
very bad. They will re grow, watering will help to not stress the tree
to much. This is the time they need water, you realy need to research
this and not panic, only a small area was cut. Id say you have a case.

Thanks for the feedback, I think the documentation and periodic review
by an arborist will be my best option- Im waiting for a return call
this morning from tech manager concerning the disregard for my 'no
work' instructions. The hassle of having to deal with this is probably
the greatest negative.!

wrote:

Pete C. wrote:
porter wrote:

More detail on the trenching work that was done- the trench was at
least 8 inches deep, and some places deeper. I hand excavated a few
areas and there were many roots cut. In my online research, I"ve
learned that 90 % of the roots are located in the first 12-18 inches,
and any trenching done in the root zone can cause serious damage. I
hit on some utility guidelines that specifically stated not to perform
trenching in the manner and scope that was performed in my yard. Young
trees are more likely to recover, these trees are mature.

My dilemna is when these trees die a slow death over the next 3 years,
then I have to pay for removal. Not to mention a few of them are in a
drop zone that can take out my children's bedrooms! I'm proactive in
removing sick trees- I've spent large to take out 5 trees over the past
few years that were risky.

So file a lawsuit for the damage specifying a settlement where the cable
company takes responsibility for having the trees examined annually be a
qualified arborist and is responsible for their removal *and*
replacement with comparable trees if they die as a result of the
unauthorized trenching over say a 10yr period. If they are still ok
after 10 yrs you can probably drop it since they're likely fine. If the
cable company is lucky all they will end up paying is the arborist
visits for like $100 / yr which is less than pocket change for them. If
they're not lucky then tens of thousands for removal and replacement.

Pete C.

He has no real basis for a lawsuit now, because he has no quantifiable
damages, which is key. And without that, you don't even know where to
file. Small claims because it's less than $3K?, or superiour court,
where it's gonna get expensive real fast to try to recover moeny for
something that "might" someday happen.

Doesn't matter. File in small claims and settle out of court. In the
best and perhaps most likely case it will only cost the cable company a
couple thousand dollars over a decade. Their counsel will tell them to
just settle and be done with it.

Pete C.

A big problem for you is proving that you instructed TWC
not to trench. Hopefully you can still get some satifaction.

Better yet, hopefully an arborist will say that no significent
harm was done.

Gideon

Gideon wrote:
A big problem for you is proving that you instructed TWC
not to trench. Hopefully you can still get some satifaction.

Better yet, hopefully an arborist will say that no significent
harm was done.

Gideon


While it would be icing on the cake to be able to prove that he
instructed them not to trench, I don't see that as a big problem. The
cable company is responsible for damage done to his property whether he
gave permission or not.

wrote:
He has no real basis for a lawsuit now, because he has
no quantifiable damages, which is key.

===========

I'm not a lawyer, but I see similarities to other lawsuits.

Suppose that I injure an eight year-old child with my car.
Experts testify about his probable degree of disability over
his lifetime, his expected lifetime, his probable lost income,
the cost of lifetime care, etc. The injury occurred now, but
some of those liabilities won't occur for many years to come.
Even if the injury doesn't cause a disability now, but probably
will in the future, I should be liable for all future complications.

It seems to me (just an opinion) that a court judgement or an
out-of-court settlement is first predicated upon determining if
TWC harmed the tree. The harm has been done now or it hasn't.

Future complications from that harm are probabilities and
estimation. Possible manners in which that is handled in a
settlement are pure speculation on my part. I know that judgements
can be based upon probably future loss. I don't know if a
judgement can dictate "let's look at it every year for 15 years
and see what happens." That seems logical to me, but the
law certainly isn't always logical.

I plan to trench my yard this summer and I will be cutting through
many roots from trees, shrubs, grape vines, etc. I've Googled
the subject in the past and there are guidelines for the proper
methods of dressing root wounds after they have been mangled
by a trencher. Both an arborist and a city engineer can examine
a few areas to provide expert opinion on the damage to the
root structure. If they see problems (they probably will), the
one option is for TWC to hire somebody to come out, retrench,
and properly deal with the roots. Even so, the health of the
trees may be compromised in the future.

The orginal poster may want to check with his local municipality
and talk with their engineering department and their legal folks.

Some cities are very astute in this area. They cut roots on trees
which belong to the city and trees which belong to homeowners.
They try to avoid tree damage and follow the proper guidelines.

Cities courts also resolve such disputes between homeowners or
between homeowners and contractors. The advice is free.
(Well, actual when you consider your tax bill, the advice is really
rather expensive).

Gideon