[BC] Little Abner and his cloud

[RichardBJohnson at comcast.net]

Actually in the state of Massachusetts, there is no way to recover damages from a municipal utility company. They are required only to make "best effort" to provide services and, should some mistake be made, "best effort" to correct that mistake. Their only "mistake" was turning off the power, which was promptly restored as soon as it was reported to have been turned off in error, in spite of the fact that my basement was being flooded for 6 hours. I have already consulted with a lawyer. I need to submit a claim to my homeowner's insurance, which I am in the process of doing.

Even gas companies who blow up houses aren't "strictly liable" in the state of Massachusetts, although insurance companies are often able to subjugate against them if they both do business in other states.  

Basically, it is the insurance companies who have the air-twisting power, so they are the ones who need to handle claims. Nevertheless, the homeowners can demand that the utility management be fired and, if this is not an isolated incident, the demand may be met.

Cheers,
Richard B. Johnson
Book: http://www.AbominableFirebug.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: towers at mre.com

Richard,

Since this fault is of the utility's mistake/making, you have a bonfide
claim against the utility for your soft losses (food, repairs to your
furnance and basement, replacement of tools, etc.)

You're at a point where you might need counsel to press the utlity to do
the right thing.