Well.......a problem

[jtrotta]

Bruce; don't know if you have it out in your area, but here we have well companies that offer "Refrag" options; basically the well company comes in and forces air (tons of pressure) down into the "well stand pipe" and in turn what happens is it forces air back thru many of the veins, thus allowing some new veins to open and allow water flow again.

Most importantly, if at the time of sale the water was flowing-there is very limited, if any recourse unless they have in "writing-a guarantee" that the water flow will remain constant over time. Nobody I know ever gets one of those, but maybe!! 8O

Many things affect wells, as they are below surface operations and many things can & will affect natural "water flow". Also, you can research at your local town hall and it should be on file, what the recorded flow rate was when the well was originally drilled; it should give the GPM 8)

You could do the job, but you'l need time to prepare; some experts to bring in or provide data; and your Fee should reflect the time required; research needed; and preparation. Should you elect to accept this mission you need "just compensation" 8)

It will expand your expertise with many attorneys and provide newly found business, both in & out of court :!:

Good Luck!!

 

[Austin]

The first thing I would do would get the lawyer to specify the definition of market value he wanted me to use. That will hold things up about a week. When he comes back with the standard definition I would explain that this is not a problem that can be solved by an appraisal. The way the problem is worded, it appears that no water is going to be available or if water is available the source and cost is an unknown factor. An appraisal can tell how much it was worth with water, but the cost of acquiring water is not an appraisal problem. If you get caught in that trap you are headed for trouble. If you go off giving estimates on piping water, drilling wells, etc., when you get on the stand you had better have an engineering degree or you are going to look like a fool. If you start showing cost to cure, using troubled property sales, etc., the opposing lawyer will rip you apart. I have been hired a number of times to prep lawyers on cross-examining appraisers. If you take any of the above suggestions, I can tell you, I would have a field day at your expense. The client does not have a case. When I was studying law they called things like the loss of well water an act of God.

 

[Will Granger]

Sounds like a dust bowl. I had a similar thing in December. I recommend you find out where the closest well water is, see if the owner would sell rights to it and figure the cost of drilling and running the line to the subject property. That may not be feasible. Whew!! Time for an auction......

 

[Larry Lyke]

Blue1 --

The attorney will have to be very clear in explaining on the intent of the litigation to you so you an decide whether to accept the assignment or not.

A lawsuit based on a cost to cure isn't the same as tort for fraud -- which I hear you saying the attorney wants to use to you to tesify on.

Said another way, cost to cure is easy. The fraud lit is the hard one.

When it doesn't rain, the acquifer can run dry. Being that the Seller was smart enough to know that it wasn't going to rain enough to keep the acquifer replenished, it's highly probable that the jury will find ANY argument this attorney tries to make with you on the witness stand, is too implausible.

Run, Blue1, run. Run carrying your tail lest it slow you down!

 

[Dee Dee]

jtrotta,
I have LOTS of experience with deep wells and hydrofracturing (that's what we call it here).
On our first attempt to drill the well for our new house we went 700ft. and the tailings were nothing but solid granite dust. The well company charges 1/2 price if it drills a dry well, but at $12 a foot it would have cost me $4200 for nothing. It couldn't have hurt worse if they'd have backed that drill right up to our fannies. Needless to say, we freaked! So I called this guy up who did hydrofracturing. Process is similiar to what you describe, except he uses pressurized water, then after a fracture is made he adds quartz rock which is supposed to catch inside the fractures and hold them open. His deal was that if he could successfully fracture the rock inside the well to find a vein of water that would produce enough to pass county requirements it would cost us $2,800. If he couldn't do it, no charge. Sounded good to us, considering that if we started all over we might just hit another dry hole.
The well fractured and the water came pouring in, in excess of 5 GPM which is above the county standards. The static line came in at about 150ft. so we effectively have 550ft. of water storage underground. And talk about 'Deep Rock' water....when I fill my tub up it's got a beautiful glacial aqua color to it. I could sell this stuff to the yuppies!
I'm absolutely sold on hydrofracturing.

 

[Ross (CO)]

Lawyers, lawsuits, sue them, blah, blah, blah........you know, sometimes wells go dry ! It's called the hydrologic cycle and has a lot to do with annual precip', as in snowfall, snow-melt, summer rain, and all that other stuff this homeowner never got a handle on in 7th grade earth science ! Dee Dee nailed it. This guy should hydrofrac the well at it's deepest level and progressively work up the bore. We, of course, do not know where Blue1's location is so the geologic setting could be good, bad or indifferent. Where Dee Dee is......a granite-based well environment is prime for effective frac'ing, and the re-newed water yield can be astounding. In most parts of the country a "castle fit for a king" is close to worthless without water. This notion of hauling water and storing in cisterns, or the ol' "cement pond" gets real old real fast. Frac the well, get your new water, and don't waste good time in the courtroom ! I am sure there are better things to prosicute in that jurisdiction.....yeah, they should go after some corrupt lenders or try a few of those "detainees" from Guantanimo Bay.