Driveway removed, car in a hole - my fault?

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  • Norman_Castle
    Norman_Castle Posts: 11,871 Forumite
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    edited 5 March 2017 at 4:22PM
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    At worst you might have moved some of the edging stones which with the amount of work needing to be done to this driveway both inside and out wouldn't make any difference to this stalled project.

    The open gate suggests he's been out to look. Looking at the picture the phrase, cash flow problems, springs to mind.

    Nice garage and very nice gates.
  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 8,213 Forumite
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    Lorian wrote: »
    Your car isn't actually on his property, just overhanging it - given your car hasn't touched his property in my opinion he would be hard pushed to have any sort of claim against you. Keep the photo safe :-)

    "Overhanging" is almost certainly irrelevant.

    In criminal law, in every case where a vehicle is required not to cross a line (e.g. stop lines, double white lines, parking bays) any part of the vehicle crossing the line creates the offence.

    Although this is a civil matter, the same logic should apply.
  • phill99
    phill99 Posts: 9,093 Forumite
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    It's always someone elses fault isn't it?
    Eat vegetables and fear no creditors, rather than eat duck and hide.
  • Lorian
    Lorian Posts: 5,706 Forumite
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    Car_54 wrote: »
    "Overhanging" is almost certainly irrelevant.

    In criminal law, in every case where a vehicle is required not to cross a line (e.g. stop lines, double white lines, parking bays) any part of the vehicle crossing the line creates the offence.

    Although this is a civil matter, the same logic should apply.

    so on your logic if I wave my hand over someone's head I've actually punched them?
  • UKSBD
    UKSBD Posts: 797 Forumite
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    Go and post a note through his door and on the way out trip over the mess and twist your ankle :)
  • Strider590
    Strider590 Posts: 11,874 Forumite
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    UKSBD wrote: »
    Go and post a note through his door and on the way out trip over the mess and twist your ankle :)

    This raises a valid point, there is a responsibility for the safety of others. If anyone came to harm on publicly accessible parts of your property you would certainly without doubt be held accountable.
    There have even been cases where thieves have been able to prosecute home owners for injuries sustained when trying to break into their property.

    I don't know how it would apply to property damage, but for an injury the Occupiers liability act of 1984 would apply.
    The 1984 Act deals with individuals other than visitors and is taken to mean trespassers. A duty of care has to be established in this case and occurs when the following three factors are met:
    • That the occupier is aware of the danger.
    • That the occupier knows that the other person will be near the danger or that they have reasonable grounds to believe that it is the case
    • That the occupier ought reasonably think about providing some protection to the other person.
    • Under the 1984 Act no duty will exist when a person willingly accepts a risk when they trespass on a certain type of land.

    And that doesn't even touch on the fact that this hazard was in a publicly accessible place, with no signs or protection.
    “I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”

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  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 8,213 Forumite
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    Lorian wrote: »
    so on your logic if I wave my hand over someone's head I've actually punched them?

    Your analogy is very silly.

    Anyway, it's not my logic, it's the law, and common sense. The overhang is denying the landowner the use of that part of his land. There is absolutely no logic to say that the wheels should determine the position of a vehicle or whether it is occupying a particular space.
  • deaston
    deaston Posts: 477 Forumite
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    Strider590 wrote: »
    the fact that this hazard was in a publicly accessible place,

    This was my personal feeling. Although it is private land, it is accessible from a public highway without the need to open any gates, pass any signs etc. My gut feeling is that the homeowner would be responsible should I have damaged my car as he didn't warn that works were in progress, and would not have won should he have pursued me for any damage to his property.
  • parking_question_chap
    parking_question_chap Posts: 2,694 Forumite
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    deaston wrote: »
    But, here's the question - should he not have had some warning that the driveway was missing? Cones or signs or a rope or something?

    Why is it always somebody elses fault?
  • parking_question_chap
    parking_question_chap Posts: 2,694 Forumite
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    Tarambor wrote: »
    Given there's not a pile of corpses or gouges in the pavement it would suggest that pretty much everyone other than the OP seems to not have had a problem.

    haha, this thread is one of the funniest I have read in a long time.

    Cheers op.
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