When You May Need to Sue a Utility Provider
There are a number of circumstances that may warrant suing a utility company. Perhaps your utility bill was much higher than what you normally pay or even higher than the previous month even though you have not increased your usage. Or perhaps the utility company has continuously turned off your services despite your repeated requests for them to remain on. There could be an easement or access issue with regard to the utility company, or they may have denied your application for either electric or water service without reason. You may have suffered some property damage as a result of downed overhead power lines or water pipes as well as electrical or water line problems. You may also have had an issue with billing that has never been rectified . Finally, if you formed a separate agreement with a utility company that they have subsequently broken, you may have some grounds to sue them for breach of contract.
Each of these issues can be addressed with the appropriate legal action. While a lawsuit may not always be the right option, many times it is the best way to move forward with the case effectively while also ensuring that the victim receives proper restitution. Utility lawsuits can be complicated, however, as a result of the involved parties being powered by generosity of the government, which is granted at a state level. Not every state allows lawsuits against utility companies. Further, if you can make a strong enough case against the company that has harmed you, it can force them to not only give you the compensation you deserve but also help others.
How to Locate the Correct Attorney
When you make the decision to hire a lawyer to sue a utility company, it is important to make sure that you are hiring a qualified, skilled advocate to get your best result. In picking an attorney to prosecute your case, you should consider the following, among other things: (1) what types of cases does the lawyer and law firm handle – does he have experience in litigating cases against utility companies? (2) how long has the firm been representing people in these types of cases? (3) How successful has the lawyer been in obtaining favorable results for his clients? (4) Is the lawyer experienced in handling cases in the court or courts where your case would be filed and is he familiar with the judges? (5) what types of fees and costs do the lawyers charge? In addition to hourly fees, some law firms charge a contingent fee, which is a percentage of the recovery received. Some law firms charge a contingency fee on the entire amount recovered. Others charge a reduced contingency fee on the portion of the recovery that is over a certain amount. There are advantages and disadvantages to the different types of fee arrangements, and having a discussion with your lawyer regarding these different arrangements is important to make sure that your expectations of the fee arrangement are properly met. It is also important that you understand any fees that you might have to pay, such as filing fees or fees for expert witnesses that might be necessary in your case. If an insurance company is involved, then your lawyer should also explain to you any issues related to the payment of your client’s medical bills, and whether or not your health insurance may need to be paid back out of your recovery for any treatment that was made before a lawsuit was filed.
Process of the Lawsuit
It is important to understand the procedure for filing a lawsuit against a utility company, because you can get off on the wrong foot very quickly by making major mistakes (that may be fatal to your lawsuit). A. First, you must be within the statutes of limitations to sue and of course, each state has a statute of limitations for most types of torts (the most common, personal injury). Statutes of limitations involve various policies in determining how long from the date of the incident may an injured person bring a lawsuit. Obviously the longer the time period which elapses between the incident and the filing of the lawsuit, the less reliable the information, witnesses, evidence, etc. will be considered by the jury. This is not a cut and dry proposition however: for example, Louisiana has a 10 year statute of limitation for personal injury matters. In other states the statute of limitations varies with the type of lawsuit. A "tort" lawsuit, which involves an injury/injuries to a person or persons in the situation we’re discussing here, is 3 years under Louisiana law. You should not wait until the time has passed to file a lawsuit before you meet with an attorney, because of the possibility that he will need time to investigate the facts, review the contract with your and settle the matter to your satisfaction, etc. So don’t wait until the last minute. B. Next, a demand package should be sent to the utility company. The demand package will contain a certified copy of your bill(s), etc. that you are questioning or disputing, along with a copy of your contract with the utility company. All of this will be discussed with your attorney. C. The next step, which may be simultaneous with step B above, is to schedule an in person meeting with the utility company (your attorney can attend with you). You need to go over all of the documents and discuss any other issues with the representative from the utility company. Sometimes, mistakes can simply be corrected in the meeting. If it’s more complicated, the utility representative may take more time to review the matters and call you back or otherwise follow up with you. D. If all of this is unsuccessful and you cannot come to a resolution to your satisfaction, your attorney will next file a petition for damages with the court. Court rules (called Rules for Court) apply.
Possible Results and How Much You Could Win
Lawsuits against utility companies can result in a number of different outcomes. The most common result is that the court decides in favor of the utility company, absolving it of any wrongdoing and ordering the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s legal fees. However, in many cases, the court can order that the utility company either make repairs or pay some other form of compensation to the plaintiff.
The potential outcomes of a lawsuit can include:
Whether or not the client will be awarded any money or equipment as a result of their lawsuit will depend on the specific facts of each case and the blog attorney’s ability to fit the damages suffered by their client into one of these categories.
Damages in an amount to repair property damaged as a result of the utility company’s negligence are called "consequential damages." If the client’s property has been destroyed due to the negligent act of a utility company, they may be able to expect that utility company will replace their property, even if the utility company didn’t intend to destroy it. If the property can be restored, then the utility company will restore it, and the client will be entitled to the cost of restoration . Similarly, if the property was damaged because the utility company did not properly shut off the service, the client is entitled to the money that it would take to have the service shut off.
If the utility company failed to fix a problem that persisted for a period of time, the client may be awarded "incidental damages" suffered during this period. This is the value of the benefits the defendant received, with a corresponding reduction by the costs incurred by the defendant in collecting and holding them.
For example, if the electricity went out at the plaintiff’s house for a period of two days, and the plaintiff lost $200 worth of food because it was not frozen properly, they would be awarded $200 from the utility company.
In addition to compensation for any damages suffered by the client as a result of the utility company’s negligence, an injured party may also be entitled to other forms of compensation called "punitive damages." These damages are awarded to punish and make an example of the defendant, and detour others from acting in the same way, and are awarded on a discretionary basis.
Fees and Expenses Involved in Legal Proceedings
Charges and Fees for Light Suit
In this payment structure, the client is required to pay most of the fees of litigation. By way of example, it is not an unusual occurrence in a commercial dispute of this type for the legal fees (admittedly high in most instances) to approach or exceed the total amount of the amount in controversy. Thus, if a utility company damages someone’s property in the amount of $3000, and the investigation, discovery, motions, and trial on the matter is estimated at $5000, the case may be cost prohibitive for the person whose property was damaged depending on their particular situation. Most attorneys will request that their fees be paid in advance, and in most cases, before any time is spent on the case.
The same is true for costs. If a lay person files an action in small claims court, the filing fee for an action for $3000 or less is approximately $100, and is cost-effective for everyone. However, in commercial disputes where the amount of damages is high in an action against a utility company wrongdoer, the costs of the action may exceed the amount of damage that is incurred.
Legal work is billed at an hourly rate or a set fee, depending on the agreement. The fee for litigating against a utility company will generally be high. The attorney will require a retainer, which is a deposit on the hour. In addition, however, a business client may additionally be charged for staff time, paralegal time, file opening time, document assembly time, and other miscellaneous services not billed out. A utility company wrongdoer may use all of its resources to defend the action, and as if driving a familiar car, the identified hourly attorneys will be dispatched to handle the matter, regardless of their level of experience and training at the moment the matter is taken on. Therefore, clients may be turned off by the idea of an hourly rate, but should note that in this type of action, the method of charging for services is typically hourly, so that the law firm or attorney can make more money.
Typical Struggles and How to Tackle Them
Challenges Faced When Suing a Utility Company and Strategies to Overcome Them
Utility companies are left with many options when it comes to meeting their bottom lines, but sometimes some of them are illegal. Decades of legal precedent and state and federal regulatory agencies exist to rein them in as much as possible, and issues of service are regulated at both the federal and state level to ensure that customers’ rights are protected. However, abusive practices do still slip through the cracks. The answer certainly isn’t to stop using utilities; how else are we supposed to keep our homes and businesses running? No, the answer is to make sure your voice is heard and your rights are respected by holding utility companies accountable for any legal transgressions.
While you might feel discouraged after your utility company has wronged you in some way, there are ways of overcoming their challenges.
Lack of credibility
Utility companies are deeply rooted in the communities in which they do business, and often, no one wants to testify against them. It’s one of the many reasons why they tend to get away with illegal practices—none of the people hurt by their practices wants to admit things like they choose not to take particularly meaningful actions against their fav utility provider because they think that they’ll lose their homes or businesses on account of it, or that they fear retaliation for doing so.
Fortunately, there are strategies for getting around a lack of credibility and having official processes documented. For one, you’ll need to make sure that you keep flawless documentation of everything related to your claim against a utility company. Photocopy everything and keep thorough notes of everything you experience as a result of their actions. Ensure that you have thorough documentation of your intent to consult with a lawyer as well.
Fraud and bribery
Whether lending their name to false advertisements or giving out imprecise or inaccurate information , utility companies are sometimes not truthful about their practices, which often leads to customers losing out. Fraud can occur not just in the typical scam way, but also in other, more difficult to identify ways. For example, customers may not be able to identify that utility companies are overcharging them. Utility companies avoid this in the first place by ensuring customers simply continue paying their bills without investigation—something that happens more often than you’d expect or want to believe. When this occurs, fraudulent practices become much more difficult to prove, and customers can be manipulated and denied their right to sue the utility company.
The way forward is to ensure that every little bill you get is accurate and thorough, including noting the starter and end points of each billing cycle, as well as the actual bill and how it matches up to predictions. It’s important to dispute any overage immediately before it becomes impossible to do so.
Unique resistance in court
Utility companies are prevalent across the board, and because of the nature of their offerings and the frequent lack of customers as compared to them, they are much better equipped and often much wealthier than individual plaintiffs. Moreover, when a utility company has historically operated with impunity, they’re unlikely to start playing nice now. As such, they’ll often be entirely unwilling to concede anything without contesting it tooth and nail.
It should now go without saying that you need to hire an attorney with experience handling cases against a utility company, as these are not the types of cases that you can expect to win on your own. However, you must also choose someone who has a lot of cases and can be devoted specifically to your needs, as they will need to be persistent in the face of any kind of significant resistance to your case as utility companies are used to getting their own way and expecting to settle. While your case may not end in trial, you should be prepared to handle everything it takes to get there.