Marine fighting Whitewater for repair costs
WISC video
WHITEWATER — Joseph Cull is fighting two battles: one against the Taliban in Afghanistan and one against city officials in Whitewater.
Cull, first lieutenant in the U.S. Marines, owns a duplex in the 200 block of Park Street. He expected the city to cover the costs of cleanup and repair after a sewer backup in early July filled his basement with water and sewage. But the city has maintained it is not responsible for damages.
“So I get a phone call (from the city), and he said, ‘Hey, the city’s sewer backed up, and it’s caused a bunch of damage,’” Cull said last week in an interview from Afghanistan with WISC-TV Channel 3. “(There were) 8 to 12 inches of water and sewage in the whole basement of my house.”
Cull told Channel 3 his basement had to be gutted, the foundation had to be repaired and appliances replaced.
The city said the backup was caused by a blockage—a buildup of grease—in a city-owned sewer main under the street near Cull’s home. But the city won’t pay for the damage, which is estimated at $20,000.
Cull is unhappy.
“I’m overseas doing what I’m supposed to do, and they wouldn’t even help clean up the mess, let alone pay for it,” he told Channel 3.
The city filed a claim for the damage with its insurance company, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance Company, but the claim was denied.
(The company) completed its investigation and found “there is no negligence on behalf of the city of Whitewater,” the denial letter to Cull said.
City Manager Kevin Brunner said the city handled the situation as most municipalities would: The property owner submits a claim to the city, and the city submits the claim to its insurance company. The insurance company looks for negligence on the part of the city, and if it finds none, the claim is denied.
In his Aug. 28 weekly report to city residents, Brunner said a municipality is not liable for damage to private property unless the municipality had prior knowledge of a problem and did nothing to fix it.
Brunner said the city was unaware of any blockage in the sewer main adjacent to Cull’s property, which is why the city’s insurance company denied a claim for damages.
The denial isn’t out of the ordinary, he said.
Dennis Tweedale, who administers the municipal insurance program, told Brunner that 363 sewer backup claims have been filed statewide since 2003, and the insurance company paid claims in 95 of them, Brunner said in his weekly report.
Brunner said the problem now is out of the city’s hands.
“We feel terrible when this happens to anyone—and doubly so with this poor property owner who is serving his country thousands of miles from home—but the plain fact of the matter is … it doesn’t make any difference who the person is; we have to look at the circumstances of the claim,” he said.
“It comes down to, ‘Did we know anything about this? Was it due to negligence on our part?’ and our insurance company has said, ‘No.’”
Local service groups are working on ideas to help Cull pay for the damage at his home, and city officials said they will cooperate with anyone who comes forward to help with fundraising.
Cull told Channel 3 he has retained a lawyer and plans to fight the city when he returns from duty in November.
Sep 3, 2009 at 9:23 p.m.
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insightfullone: Since I have been on my soapbox on this issue, I'm not getting down. You don't get it. If we don't take care of great Americans like 1st Lt. Cull, we will no longer have "ordinary citizens". I can go to sleep every night and be at peace. I can't pretend to imagine what it is like for our troops in a war zone. I'll let 1st Lt. Cull fight for me in Afghanistan, and I'll fight for him in Whitewater. Don't compare apples to poppy fields. As far as sue happy, I hope I can work with the city of Whitewater and get this resolved before 1st Lt. Cull returns home.
I want to be a part of the solution, which only requires two parts, good initiative, good judgment. matt.gaboda@yahoo.com
Sep 3, 2009 at 9:06 p.m.
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theone: Under any other circumstance, I agree. If he would have been at his home, he would have been able to potentially limit the damage. Instead he's thousands of miles away, eating MRE's and probably wondering how much an attorney will cost, how will I pay them, etc. I think we need to cater to any and all servicemen and women who risk their lives everyday, so we can freely debate an issue like this. He deserves, as well as any other soldier who is at war, preferential treatment. I have never worried about being blown up or shot at in my life, and I think most people choose not to consider the sacrifices our troops make for all of us. Like war/hate war, these hero's are somebodies relative or friend who is unselfishly risking their life for us. The simple solution is out there, it is up to the city of Whitewater to set the plan into motion. I will be calling the city manager on Tuesday to see if we can get a positive resolution quickly. Pressure makes diamonds.
Sep 3, 2009 at 9:05 p.m.
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theone - is correct. If this had happened to an ordinary citizen, you wouldn't be hearing about it like this story. Also, to mymaro's comment about if it happened to a city employee, etc. It has and they are taking responsibility, not going after the city. That's how it works. And, it has nothing to do with possibly losing their job or whatever else anyone might come up with. This does happen, and unfortunately, citizens need to deal with it. So many people are sue happy.
Sep 3, 2009 at 8:50 p.m.
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matt___goboda and usmc1964- Right on. This man is risking his LIFE right now so we can sit here and type on the net. He shouldnt be distracted by something like this. I bet if it was the house of a city employee or elected official it would have been fixed immediately.
Sep 3, 2009 at 7:21 p.m.
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Thank you Lt. Cull for serving. However I do not believe he is being treated any differently than any other citizen under similar circumstances.
This type of situation occurrs from time to time in cities all across the country.
That is why many people carry a rider on their home-owners' policy to specifically cover damage from sewer back-ups.
That having been said, I think it's commendable that some citzens want to chip in to help him in this situation.
Sep 3, 2009 at 7:15 p.m.
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USMC1964: Thank you. I just finished watching The Newshour on PBS and watched as they showed 10 young servicemen that gave their lives so that I can go out to eat with my family tonight. The last thing I want is for anyone serving in Iraq or Afghanistan to be worrying about back home when at any moment they could be next. If I get distracted at work, I can redo it. It takes more than a parade to support our troops. The city of Whitewater needs to make this right.
Sep 3, 2009 at 6:53 p.m.
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Matt, Harumph to you for putting your money where your mouth is. More people should do that. I really don't have the money to spare, but as a former Marine, I feel for 1st Lt. Cull. So, therefore, if he cannot resolve this issue with the city of Whitewater, I will volunteer my time and tools to help him restore his home. It's the best I got. He can contact me at penjo1@charter.net. Semper Fi.
Sep 3, 2009 at 6:15 p.m.
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Sorry for the long comment. I am optimistic the city of Whitewater can resolve this issue quickly.
Sep 3, 2009 at 6:13 p.m.
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This should have been a non issue. First Lieutenant Cull should have been told that this was going to be taken care of, rather than what he has had to deal with. If the city wants to be in the sewer business, it needs to take responsibility for these situations. Just because the cities insurance company deemed no negligence on the cities behalf, that does not mean that the city was not negligent. The cities insurance company making this determination is akin to a 10 year old kid exclaiming that their room is not messy. They both have a vested interest in not getting involved. If the city of Whitewater can take city council time to consider changing the name of Corporate Drive to Innovation Drive, I believe you can draft an Ordinance which will cover all costs associated with this fiasco. How do you pay for it? Have a public hearing and see how many residents object to paying a temporary $.50 fee per month on their utility bill for however many months it takes to pay for the damages. I am guessing it would be less than a year.
I would pay it if I lived in Whitewater, and to put my money where my mouth is, I challenge the city to pass a resolution, ordinance, consideration, or whatever you want to call it, and I will drop the first $20 in the hat. Kevin Brunner, you can make this happen, and everyone in Whitewater can feel a lot better for not a lot of money. matt.gaboda@yahoo.com
Sep 3, 2009 at 5:17 p.m.
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The law says the municipality has to have notice of a problem in order to be negligent and they do not have to go around inspecting miles of pipes to find problems. If they did, we could not afford the taxes to pay for sewer service. It sucks for the homeowner and I would be seeing red if this happened to me. People who don't like the rule as it stands need to work to change it.
Sep 3, 2009 at 3:05 p.m.
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Does the city have documentation that they have been servicing this and paper work to support it was not their vault, I doubt it whether he is here or serving our country sounds to me like another insurance company not wanting to pay when they should.
If they do a fundraiser please print in paper I will support this. For crying out loud this man is serving our country he was not home to do anything to stop this damage.
Sep 3, 2009 at 12:14 p.m.
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I don't believe a sewer backup would cause foundation damage. Also, cities receives claims every year for different things and not too many of them pay out. It will be tough for him to prove the city is negligent. I do feel terrible for him. I would hope family or friends would help out with the clean up.
Sep 2, 2009 at 7:04 p.m.
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How would the city have prior knowledge of a blockage before it backed up? I can understand if the blockage occured on the property owner's lateral but if it occurs on city property the city should be responsible.
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