Contributor
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2 Messages
Fiber installation in unmarked servitude
A contractor working for AT&T installing fiber in the Baton Rouge LA area is boring in servitude that has not been marked by ONE CALL. I have asked them to stop work and have the lines marked. The contractor is now upset with me! I want to speak to someone at AT&T so they can deal with the subcontractor before someone gets hurt.
skeeterintexas
ACE - Expert
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27.7K Messages
5 years ago
Are you saying that someone is working where you think they don't belong? I've never heard the term "boring in servitude".
Edit for clarity: "The term servitude is also used in Property Law. In this context, servitude is used with the term easement, a right of some benefit or beneficial use out of, in, or over the land of another."
If you are referring to a utility (AT&T) working in an EASEMENT (more common phrase), it doesn't have to be marked and they don't have to give anyone notice. Utility easements are there for the utilities to use as they see fit. It is your responsibility as a land/homeowner to know where those easements lie.
You need to contact your local taxing authority to find out where the utility easement is on your property and what, if any, notice you are entitled to.
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Rward6521
Contributor
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2 Messages
5 years ago
Boring - installing AT&T Uverse fiber.
Utility lines must be marked before you dig.
They are digging 4 foot holes in an area that has underground power lines that have not been marked.
I need to speak to an AT&T uverse installation engineering manager so he can insist that the subcontractor follows the law and protects the safety of his crew and the local Property owners.
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skeeterintexas
ACE - Expert
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27.7K Messages
5 years ago
A. Where I live (Dallas metroplex) utility easements can be visibly marked but it is not law. Are you sure the law says that the marks must be visible above ground? Apparently, that is not the law in all states because too many people have posted about having landscaping damaged because AT&T was working in a utility easement that the homeowner was unaware of.
Don't you think that the contractor has some sort of footprint or blueprint showing where other utilities are placed in the easement? I can't imagine that they're just digging blind into a shared utility easement. There may not be visible markings but one would assume, nay HOPE, that they have access to that information.
B. This is a user-to-user forum. We are customers so we have no insight into the inner workings of the company. Again, call your local authority, be it taxing authority or utility authority.
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