oil spill
a couple of days ago an oil company started pumping fuel oil into our basement. we however operate on a gas system and have no oil tank. he had the wrong address. so the deliveryman was basically pouring onto our cellar floor. i’m wondering if anyone has any experience with anything like this (a good…
a couple of days ago an oil company started pumping fuel oil into our basement. we however operate on a gas system and have no oil tank. he had the wrong address. so the deliveryman was basically pouring onto our cellar floor. i’m wondering if anyone has any experience with anything like this (a good lawyer in this area would be extremely useful). and in the hindsight is 20/20 department i would suggest you do what i never would have conceived is necessary: rip out or cement up an old oil pipe, if you have one.
I had a random oil company fill my tank (wring house) and try to bill me!. When I told them that it caused my company to over fill my tank and cause a spill they offered to clean it up (but I already had) but they still wanted me to pay for the oil. They treatened me. I hung up and never heard from them again.
But imagin pumping oil into the wrong house and then calling and harassing them for money!
You should call Jed Marcus from Marcus Attorneys. They are very strong litigators. 718.643.0050. Good litigators charge by the hour. Make sure you understand any attorney’s fee structure before you start working with them of course. I WOULD NOT call your insurance company or the city or tell any of your neighbors about this situation. You may want it to be made public but right now you do not. Also you need to call and environmental cleanup company immediately. You should post on here to see. I know of one in Long Island but I don’t know if they do remediation. This is truly a crisis and I would hit the phones if you have not already done so. Also if you ever looked at an environmental report done for real estate you will know that any kind of oil spill that is reported to an “expert” is reported to some sort of clearinghouse and it’s possible that your oil company’s insurance company did this as well. So at some point you should check on this by doing a Phase 1 inspection of your property to see if the spill turns up. Sort of like a credit check. You want to see if you you have a black mark that could affect your property’s value. That is worth something too in my mind in terms of monetary damages for if/when you sue.
good advice above, but in addition depending on who(agencies) was involved in this, you may have a hazardous blemish on your property that may affect resale value, and the value of homes nearby. ensure this is also taken care of if applicable, propertyshark as do other websites provide a listing of homes with various contamination, and basement leaks large and small show up on such reports.
Sounds like a serious situation. I recommend our RE lawyer who is also an excellent litigator:
Stewart Rothman
Seligson, Rothman & Rothman
212-966-5020
This happened to me as well. I was out of town but my tenants called the fire department and they came out and put kitty litter down to absorb the oil.
My basement has a concrete floor with a drain so after the kitty litter was removed I was able to scrub down the floor with a degreaser and it cleaned up fine.
I called the oil company that did it and the guy first took the approach of “you can’t prove it was me” but then switched to “I have insurance, we’ll get it taken care of.” In the end I didn’t even go after them because I was able to clean it up with minimal effort.
So my advice is to first see how extensive the damage actually is. If it can be cleaned up easily just do it, cap your pipe, and try to move on. It will be less hassle then trying to get them to do something about it. On the other hand, if there is soil contamination, etc. then you should be sure to document everything and get a lawyer.
Good luck, hopefully it’s not an extensive spill.
When we switched from oil to gas heat, I remember the contractor putting cement in the pipe opening, telling us that what you describe could happen. I’m so sorry — I hope the oil company is cleaning up the mess as we speak (or at least, beginning the process), since you don’t want to wait.
I’m really sorry to hear that this happened to you. A friend of mine had an oil spill too because of a mistake by the oil company. They had to sue the company for them to take responsibility. This sort of thing happens more often than you think.
I remember a story from many years ago where this same thing happened in Staten Island.
They wound up razing the house because the soil beneath it was so contaminated.
You could have a real situation there.
Sorry I can’t recommend an attorney who specializes in environmental issues, but that’s what you need.