Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

I live in a house with a huge ditch about 35-40ft across 10ft deep, there is almost never any water in it, possibly 1-2 inches at best all year round. I have lived there for about 36 years. Over that time, "from the easement, ditch" into "my property", the dirt has eroded and in the corner of my yard where the ditch is, is a huge hole in the ground about 4ft wide and about 2ft deep. I am wanting to put a wooden fence up in place of a chain-link one, but this problem must be corected 1st. I called the city, Jacksonville, Florida, and they sent somebody out to look at the property. They left a note on my door stating a complete "Lie". It said the city is liable for nothing and that the erosion started from my yard and went out from there into the ditch. This is 100% Impossible. He flat out Lied to me. The erosion came from the ditch into my property. The city is supposed to be responsible for the easement. So why did they lie, and how can I force them to build the ditch up and to fill in the large hole in my yard which they are responsible for?


Asked on 6/22/10, 1:37 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Richard Kaplan

There is a variety of issues that cannot be addressed so simply in this matter.

My first impression is that this ditch is adjacent to your property and is owned by the city. You may not know this but many cities make the adjacent property owner responsible for maintain the "ditch." Therefore, even though the city owns it, you must pay to fix it.

Now in your particular case I can't say for sure, but if this is true, then it doesn't make a difference, you have to fix it. Beyond this, far more information would be required.

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Answered on 6/22/10, 10:59 am


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