City sues over unpaid bills
Tim Petruk – Feb 28, 2024 / 10:23 am | Story: 474438
Photo: KTW file
The City of Kamloops is suing a local plumbing company, alleging it refused to pay up after its employees damaged municipal water infrastructure on two separate occasions.
The city filed a lawsuit against Pinnacle Plumbing and Heating, which operates as Mr. Rooter Plumbing, seeking $7,284.21.
According to the city’s notice of civil claim, Mr. Rooter employees twice caused expensive damage to city water lines in 2022 — on Vaughn Place and on Garymede Drive.
The city said the first incident was on June 13, 2022, when a Mr. Rooter worker using an excavator hit a property’s water service box with an excavator, causing damage to the curb stop and creating a leak on the city side of the line.
The next incident was two months later, on Aug. 15, 2022, when a Mr. Rooter worker using an excavator damaged a city water main, which required significant work to repair.
The city’s cost to repair the Vaughn Place break was 1,954.90 and the cost for the Garymede Drive repair work was $5,173.31.
According to the city, invoices were sent to Mr. Rooter in September of 2022. When neither bill was paid, the city sent a demand letter last month. The city’s lawsuit was filed in Kamloops provincial court on Monday.
“Mr. Rooter has acknowledged that the damage was caused by its employees but has insisted that the property owners should compensate the city for the damage it caused,” the city’s claim reads.
Once the company has been served, it will have 14 days to reply.
None of the allegations in the notice of claim have been proven in court.
www.castanetkamloops.net
https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Kamloops/474438/City-of-Kamloops-sues-plumbing-company-alleging-unpaid-bills-following-infrastructure-damage
