Michael Harris
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- New York
Hello,
We have recently had a plumbing nightmare and I am seeking advise regarding legal recourse.
We paid a plumber $12k to fix our sewer line using a lining at the end of last year as it was constantly backing up. The plumber said he would provide us with a receipt, an 8 year warranty and a video of the work he's done once completed. It took me literally months to get the receipt with 8 year warranty written on it and we never received the video. However on multiple occasions we've had water backing up after his work. Back in January he came and unclogged the pipe and said he would come back to inspect the work and repair any issues. It has been months of us constantly asking him when he will come to do this and he has continuously provided dates and times and has not shown up. About two weeks ago the sewer was clogged again and we told him it was an emergency and we can't use water. He continuously told us he will arrive to address the problem, kept giving different times and has not shown up (this is all recorded in text messages). Then he said he was in an accident, and he kept making excuses on why he isn't showing up and left us without water for 4 days! We had to hire another plumber to unclog the pipeTo this date he has not shown up. It is obvious that the work he performed did not address the issue and has actually made the situation worse (the pipes are much harder to unclog). The new plumber says that he believes that the lining is messed up and that the only way to repair this is to replace the pipe. We found out from this other plumber that installing linings on pipes in NY is actually illegal in NY and against the plumbing code. We did not know this when we commissioned the work, we took the course of action recommended by the professional we hired. As our old plumber is a pathological liar and will obviously not come and correct the damages, we are wondering what our legal recourse is? Small claims is up to $10k and I honestly would like to the full amount back along with the costs for the other plumber we had to call reimbursed to us so that we can properly repair the pipe. What type of lawyer do I need and do I go after breach of contract for warranty? Fraud for doing an illegal repair that doesn't work or some other suit?
We have recently had a plumbing nightmare and I am seeking advise regarding legal recourse.
We paid a plumber $12k to fix our sewer line using a lining at the end of last year as it was constantly backing up. The plumber said he would provide us with a receipt, an 8 year warranty and a video of the work he's done once completed. It took me literally months to get the receipt with 8 year warranty written on it and we never received the video. However on multiple occasions we've had water backing up after his work. Back in January he came and unclogged the pipe and said he would come back to inspect the work and repair any issues. It has been months of us constantly asking him when he will come to do this and he has continuously provided dates and times and has not shown up. About two weeks ago the sewer was clogged again and we told him it was an emergency and we can't use water. He continuously told us he will arrive to address the problem, kept giving different times and has not shown up (this is all recorded in text messages). Then he said he was in an accident, and he kept making excuses on why he isn't showing up and left us without water for 4 days! We had to hire another plumber to unclog the pipeTo this date he has not shown up. It is obvious that the work he performed did not address the issue and has actually made the situation worse (the pipes are much harder to unclog). The new plumber says that he believes that the lining is messed up and that the only way to repair this is to replace the pipe. We found out from this other plumber that installing linings on pipes in NY is actually illegal in NY and against the plumbing code. We did not know this when we commissioned the work, we took the course of action recommended by the professional we hired. As our old plumber is a pathological liar and will obviously not come and correct the damages, we are wondering what our legal recourse is? Small claims is up to $10k and I honestly would like to the full amount back along with the costs for the other plumber we had to call reimbursed to us so that we can properly repair the pipe. What type of lawyer do I need and do I go after breach of contract for warranty? Fraud for doing an illegal repair that doesn't work or some other suit?
