Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota
Destruction of real property by contractor
I visited vacation property that I own in MN and discovered that an area of land and a portion of my gravel driveway had been excavated by a contractor who was doing sanitary sewer work for my neighbor. The work had been completed, and the land and driveway had been filled in, but not returned to its prior condition. An area of grass and trees had been excavated, and is now a flat area of graded dirt and clay. A portion of gravel driveway is not loosely compacted clay. The contractor had not sought my permission to excavate my property, and I had no prior knowledge of that a project was going to be undertaken that would require access to and partial destruction of my property. What are my rights and remedies with regard to receiving prior notification from a contractor, and granting permission to such contractor prior to excavating my property?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Destruction of real property by contractor
Unless the contractor was exercising rights under an easement, the contractor was trespassing and you have a right to damages for what happened.
Better contact the contractor and ask what they were doing and under whose authority.