Could someone please advise?
My wife and I have a small home-based county licensed business in California selling wholesale repair parts and a good majority of our customers are elderly. The access road to my home is about 650 feet long with 500 feet of the access road being located on a "deeded easement recorded to my parcel for ingress and egress and public utilities". There are no other instructions except parcel numbers on the deed and the easement is located across a "flag lot" shaped property that is located between my property and the main highway. Without this easement, my parcel would be landlocked which makes the easement absolutely necessary. My property and the flag lot property both use the same road for access to our homes. The deeded easement arrangement makes me the "dominant owner" and the flag lot property the "servient owner". In January of 2010 the servient owner placed 2 very abrupt speed bumps and located them approx. 15 feet apart and approx. 25' from the start of my property. They were placed to try and harass my customers and deter them from continuing business with my company. I believe this because he also has removed the street identification sign that all residences in my county who share a common drive were required to install, back in the late 1990s. The removal was done late last year, as a way to make it more difficult for new customers to find my location. I have made multiple requests to the servient owner and county agencies to correct both the harassments. The county agencies keep directing me towards hiring a lawyer claiming it is a civil matter. Financially, I am not in a position to hire a law firm at this time and I am afraid to speak to my liability company for fear they will just cancel my policy because of the potential for a claim. I have tried personally to file for an injunction to remove the obstacles, to no avail.
Now, a new wrinkle has come up during a discussion with one of my elderly customers. She has complained to me that each time she goes over the speed bumps it causes her pain in both her back and neck. I am now concerned about the possibility of one of my customers filing a lawsuit against me because of the speed bumps causing them physical damage. Also, in my research I have found that home-based businesses are required to be ADA compliant and when I checked with the County planning Department, they tell me that they consider home-based businesses exempt in their codes and regulations. I know the ADA is a federal law and don't think the county can make that exception. So now on top of a possible physical injury suit, I'm also looking at a possible "access" ADA claim.
So, my question is; am I the liable company or the servient owner, who installed the speed bumps that are technically located on his property and could County Services hold some liability? I would surely appreciate any advice I can get regarding this potential matter.
My wife and I have a small home-based county licensed business in California selling wholesale repair parts and a good majority of our customers are elderly. The access road to my home is about 650 feet long with 500 feet of the access road being located on a "deeded easement recorded to my parcel for ingress and egress and public utilities". There are no other instructions except parcel numbers on the deed and the easement is located across a "flag lot" shaped property that is located between my property and the main highway. Without this easement, my parcel would be landlocked which makes the easement absolutely necessary. My property and the flag lot property both use the same road for access to our homes. The deeded easement arrangement makes me the "dominant owner" and the flag lot property the "servient owner". In January of 2010 the servient owner placed 2 very abrupt speed bumps and located them approx. 15 feet apart and approx. 25' from the start of my property. They were placed to try and harass my customers and deter them from continuing business with my company. I believe this because he also has removed the street identification sign that all residences in my county who share a common drive were required to install, back in the late 1990s. The removal was done late last year, as a way to make it more difficult for new customers to find my location. I have made multiple requests to the servient owner and county agencies to correct both the harassments. The county agencies keep directing me towards hiring a lawyer claiming it is a civil matter. Financially, I am not in a position to hire a law firm at this time and I am afraid to speak to my liability company for fear they will just cancel my policy because of the potential for a claim. I have tried personally to file for an injunction to remove the obstacles, to no avail.
Now, a new wrinkle has come up during a discussion with one of my elderly customers. She has complained to me that each time she goes over the speed bumps it causes her pain in both her back and neck. I am now concerned about the possibility of one of my customers filing a lawsuit against me because of the speed bumps causing them physical damage. Also, in my research I have found that home-based businesses are required to be ADA compliant and when I checked with the County planning Department, they tell me that they consider home-based businesses exempt in their codes and regulations. I know the ADA is a federal law and don't think the county can make that exception. So now on top of a possible physical injury suit, I'm also looking at a possible "access" ADA claim.
So, my question is; am I the liable company or the servient owner, who installed the speed bumps that are technically located on his property and could County Services hold some liability? I would surely appreciate any advice I can get regarding this potential matter.
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