Is This Legal?

[StaticCling]

I have a Utility Pole in my Backyard. My gates are locked, primarily because I have dogs, which are left indoors when we aren't at home.

I came home to a Verizon Crew working in my backyard (they hopped the gate) ...They are running cable from said pole to the neighbors house. Normally I wouldn't care, because crews that have needed to get to the pole have politely asked in the past. Is it legal for a crew to just barge into my backyard without permission?

[MrPeabody]

Utilities usually do have an easement to access utility poles. Check with the PUC. They should be able to tell you.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Is This Legal?

Not a clue. I know I wouldn't be happy.

[StaticCling]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Not a clue. I know I wouldn't be happy.

Yeah, it took me by surprise to say the least. I'm not accustomed to coming home and having strangers in my ****ing backyard.

[Datawiz]

Yes, they have a utility easement. You have no choice.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Originally Posted by datawiz

Yes, they have a utility easement. You have no choice.

I can see the electric co needing and having an easement, but VERIZON! No way should they be able to trespass on your property without your permission. I'd raise shit. Send them a bill or do a trade off for free service.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

I can see the electric co needing and having an easement, but VERIZON! No way should they be able to trespass on your property without your permission. I'd raise shit. Send them a bill or do a trade off for free service.

Had a co-worker fight Comcast when they wanted easement rights to cut through his property. They're not a utility. He fought them in court & won.

[lspencer534]

OP, the Court decisions are not on your side. They say that when cable TV operators bought the rights to use utility line easements they were merely acquiring a portion of the original easement rights granted by the benefited property owners. There are now many cases from different states which uphold the right of TV cable companies to acquire part of the easement rights already held by public utilities.

There are cases to the contrary.

[Mike Mercury]

from another web site... poster from Texas:

I just got back from the city. The survey and planning and permits department was very nice to me.

I told them about the way verizon was doing. I asked them why they could give someone permission without an easement. The fella said we gave verizon permission to use only the easements. If they come onto your property again, call the cops. I thanked him.

I called the big wig my husband talked to. I identified who I was and briefly about 3 sentence explained the behavior of verizon on my property. Then I said sir in jan your workers said they had easement rights, they dug up my yard. Then you tell my husband the city gave you rights to come onto my property where there were no easements. Your company lied in january, you lied to my husband and your stealing from us. Your going to have to figure out another way, your not allowed on my property and don't come on it. And I goodbye.

and some responses:

there is NO legal requirements to do anything to use an easement other than get the proper permits.

You can start by looking at your documentation when you "closed" on your home. Read your deed, and make note of the Sub-Division number as this is the key to finding the Master Deed that has the info your looking for.

As for City hall, most likely the property records are a county not city thing, and are located there.but it is different for every location. Call your attorney that handled the closing about your concerns as most likely he can answer these questions that you are looking in the wrong places for.

No one owns you anything if its in the easement, and that includes the sod. If company are digging up the easement area, its NOT there responsibility to do anything legally, regard less of that matches your value system or beliefs. All a company needs is a permit, nothing more and with that you have no rights to perform a Stop work order.

Just a word of advice... no matter how deeply you feel you may have been wronged by any utility company, DO NOT -EVER- dig up, tear down, or in any way attempt to disturb or relocate their lines on or near your property. I work for a major US utility, and I can tell you categorically that if you were to dig up their lines & toss them in the street, you'd be subject to FCC fines & jail time- it's a Federal offense to tamper with the public telephone network, regardless of whether or not those lines are located in a legal easement. (Also think of harmony with your neighbors- I'd be pissed if you yanked out the line that delivers my phone, internet, and TV services.)

Very sorry to hear you've not gotten a satisfactory response in this situation. Hopefully, there's a happy ending in store. Just be sure to keep names & phone numbers of everyone you talk to, and document what you spoke about, including any promises made, dates, times, etc.

Grow a pair people. Protect your property. Toss the guy out on his head.

If someone was in my backyard without my permission I would first ask him who the hell he is and what he is doing in my back yard. If he starts sassing me I would have literally taken the later from him and threw him off my property. I would have held onto the latter and called the cops. If the guy wanted it back he would have to wait for the cops and let them sort it out. I would have told the cops that this man was on my property without my permission and would not identify himself.

What is up with people today and how they don't defend their own property? It would have been nice to see this thread started with the title "Nasty Verizon tech was on my property illegally but I taught him a lesson". That would have been a breath of fresh air. But instead we get this nonsense.

Maybe it's me but I do not tolerate A-holes and I do not fear getting confrontational with people that do me wrong. I absolutely respect people and their property, as long as you respect mine. I wish other people were the same.

I had a complaint with my cell phone company about 10 years ago. I don't even remember which company it was. They had done this super sneaky thing of adding some sort of service to my line that I hadn't asked for, then charging me for it for a few months, and when I finally noticed I had been paying it for about 3 months, they said, too bad, we are not refunding your money for the last few months of this extra service you never asked for because you didn't notice soon enough and you implicitly agreed to the service by paying your bill

I was so pissed off that I told them I was submitting a complaint to the FCC, which I did. After that the cell phone company was falling all over themselves to resolve my complaint. They had people calling me and leaving messages every week to make sure I was satisfied with the resolution. I ignored the calls for at least a month because I figured if they can waste my time, I can waste theirs.

All thanks to my FCC complaint

Is there a utility easement on your property? If so, he was within his right to be working on the wires in your yard; however, if you do not have a utility easement, the mere convenience of working on the lines from your side is something that you must grant to a utility worker who asked to enter the yard. In the absence of an easement, and permission to use your property to access the lines, that would be a case of trespassing. You need to know where the easement lies, however, before you can determine whether or not it is a police matter (trespassing), or personnel matter (rude tone and lack of identifying uniform if so required).

Assuming you have a utility easement, do you know how he entered your yard? Did he cross your property; or did he come from the neighbor's property in the back? He may have been within the utility easement if it crosses property lines. And, if he entered from the rear, he likely would not walk over to your front door to ask to access the area because he accessed the easement with the knowledge of the customer to the rear who was getting service. Most utility contractors would just work on the lines in such a case, and not engage neighboring homeowners as they are attempting to do their job as efficiently as possible, and taking ten or twenty minutes to knock on doors removes calls from being answered.

No doubt he was a bit rude, but he did identify himself as being from Verizon, and was followed to a Verizon truck, so there is no misrepresentation as to the entity working on the lines. Calling the police would really not solve anything, as you need to know where the easement lies before lodging a complaint, and merely being rude is not grounds for police intervention. And, endangering him in any way if he was within the easement could open the perpetrator up to charges of assault as it is reasonable for a utility worker to access the lines that cross the property, which is why there are easements that protect such use.

Identifying verbally to work for VZ sometimes is not enough. The OP has every right to ask for ID.

[Mike Mercury]

this one is an interesting read...

When Verizon Comes Banging On Your Gate

[Bill]

Originally Posted by datawiz

Yes, they have a utility easement. You have no choice.

^^^^^^^ This.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by lspencer534

OP, the Court decisions are not on your side. They say that when cable TV operators bought the rights to use utility line easements they were merely acquiring a portion of the original easement rights granted by the benefited property owners. There are now many cases from different states which uphold the right of TV cable companies to acquire part of the easement rights already held by public utilities.

There are cases to the contrary.

I agree. When a company has an easement on your property, that means you can expect anyone from the company to be on your property, any contractor of that company, and anyone from other companies who the original company grants an easement within the current easement.

We did a job for a gasoline pipeline company. The sold rights to use their easement to a fiber optic company. The fiber optic company came through and laid their wire in proximity to the pipeline, and other than paying for any damages, the landowners all along the route got nothing, because they had already been paid for the pipeline easement.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by TxAg

Wonder what would happen if they tried that here in Texas and someone met them with a shot gun pointed at them.

Just sayin'.

I think the result would be much different.

See: http://www.americanbar.org/content/d...thcheckdam.pdf

[LATB]

Originally Posted by TxAg

Wonder what would happen if they tried that here in Texas and someone met them with a shot gun pointed at them.

Just sayin'.

If they are wise. They would leave. And return with proper authority to access the easement. If in fact there is an easement.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

I agree. When a company has an easement on your property, that means you can expect anyone from the company to be on your property, any contractor of that company, and anyone from other companies who the original company grants an easement within the current easement.

We did a job for a gasoline pipeline company. The sold rights to use their easement to a fiber optic company. The fiber optic company came through and laid their wire in proximity to the pipeline, and other than paying for any damages, the landowners all along the route got nothing, because they had already been paid for the pipeline easement.

I agree, too. But I also think that the case law allowing this is merely an expedient solution to changing technology and not firmly established in law. I think the moral here is to study the easement you're giving very carefully, but the Courts may still expand the rights you have given in the interest of technological progress.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by TxAg

Wonder what would happen if they tried that here in Texas and someone met them with a shot gun pointed at them.

Just sayin'.

We had a crew get a gun pulled on them down in Alice, TX. We had another crew report a guy brandished an ax and told them to GTFO near Beaumont (pretty sure the guy was growing some pot on the ROW). Personally, I have had a guy tell me he was going to shoot me. These things happen in the pipeline business. Most landowners know the program and, if you are polite and respectful with them, they are usually fine. Occasionally you get an asshole, just like with everything else in life.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

We had a crew get a gun pulled on them down in Alice, TX. We had another crew report a guy brandished an ax and told them to GTFO near Beaumont (pretty sure the guy was growing some pot on the ROW). Personally, I have had a guy tell me he was going to shoot me. These things happen in the pipeline business. Most landowners know the program and, if you are polite and respectful with them, they are usually fine. Occasionally you get an asshole, just like with everything else in life.

I've never met an asshole...that lived, anyway.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by datawiz

Yes, they have a utility easement. You have no choice.

If I'm not mistaken, in my area the easement is king... as long as they stay on it at all times.

Example; of two parallel streets... where the properties "backs" are against each other; there will probably be a utility easement at this juncture (where back yards butt up against each other). If the utilities need to get to a spot in the middle of this long easement run, they must enter at one end - directly onto the easement area - and then travel down within that easement line until they reach the area they need to work on. This they can do without asking.

What they can't do -without asking permission first - is to drive down the street part way - then cut through someones yard to reach the easement area needing work. And this is what frustrates many home owners, the cavalier attitude of utility workers who trespass - in order to reach the easement area.

There are no easements on the sides of my property; but there is out by the street and along the back of my property.

Where-ever an easement sits, there is a legal non-trespassing avenue for them to gain access to it. They have no right to trespass - in order to reach the easement area. This is why they are supposed to ask permission from the land owner each & every time they decide to take a shortcut route to where they need to get to.

[LATB]

Modern planners put utility easements in the front of subdivided lots adjacent to the roadway. This portion of land (including the road) is usually "dedicated" to the city/county/Parrish/town from the developer as part of his development order. The advance of buried utilities makes it aesthetically pleasing.

Back in the day. When there were alleys behind lots for access easement. Developers would hold title to the easement (alley) and contract with the utility companies himself for easement. Very good long term guaranteed income. The government stole that from the developer through development code in most states.

This lead developers to eliminate alleys and install utility easements across the rear of subdivided lots. Basically, the developers were not going to give the city/county...the land. And no point of platting the alley if it wasn't going to be profitable to the developer.

This all of course is in general terms. And there are exceptions.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by lspencer534

I've never met an asshole...that lived, anyway.

Nothing that we do is worth either getting hurt over, or hurting someone else. If someone is butthurt and doesn't want us on their property, and cannot be reasoned with, we leave. Whether I have a right to be on the property is irrelevant. In fact, when encountering upset landowners, that's usually the first thing I tell them. "Hey, we're here doing xxx on behalf of [insert PPL company], but ultimately, we are on your property, and YOU are the boss on this job. YOU call the shots."

Many times, that settles down upset people, who just want you to acknowledge that they are the alpha dog. I've got no problems with that. However, if they still are insistent that we leave, we leave, and apprise the company of the difficulty. That's what they have land men for.