I share a small driveway with my neighbors. I recently had my oil changed and due to a mistake from the car dealer, my oil leaked in the driveway. When I noticed it, I immediately called the dealer and they towed and fixed the problem and gave me something to put on the oil. My neighbors had a problem with this material and when it was going to rain the next day, they asked me to remove it so it did not damage their grass or get in their sump pump (which is not near the driveway). I obliged but over the next week used a degreaser. Now they are complaining that the materials I used to clean up the spill have left a mark on their driveway and they would like me to pay to have it fixed. I have to admit that everything does flow to their side and there are flow marks probably from the cleaner-but there are no actual oil stains.

My questions are, is the dealership that caused the leak responsible and am I responsible for my neighbors driveway?

Hi crazyneigbours,

Anything that happens on your property is your responsibility... yes it was the dealer that caused the leak, but you could then argue that it was up to you, to make sure no damage was done, whilst he was on your property at your request.

Had he come onto your property uninvited then, he would be at fault.

I don't understand the "whilst he was on your property at your request" statement.

Who was on the property uninvited and caused the problem? I see no guests here - invited or uninvited, no guests causing the problem.

I read this as car had a problem, was towed, OP picked it up and brought it back and it leaked oil in a common driveway. OP tried to clean up as best as OP could.

Neighbor is claiming some type of damage from either oil leak or clean up.

I would contact the mechanic, tell him of the problem, advise mechanic he was at fault, see what mechanic has to say. I would also do my best to make my neighbor happy - but I have no idea what the neighbor wants/expects to make him happy.

All damages are not the result of negligence and I'm not sure at all that OP is negligent here in the least or, if so, that it rises to the level of a lawsuit.

Yes your right Judykaytee... in my rush I scan read the question and assumed the car had been repaired in the drive... thanks for pointing that out... Apologies

Crazyneighbors... as Judy said contact the mechanic, fill him in on the problem, see what he thinks, in the mean time try and keep your neighbour happy, you might even be able to come to some amicable agreement between yourselves should the mechanic not come through...

Hi Judy... not a problem, words don't always portray what we are trying to say.

Takecare.

Is a large, 2-lane driveway that is divided by a property line or is it a small, one-lane driveway that you both share to reach the back of your property? If it's a one-lane, I would find out whose property the driveway is actually on. It may be that it is your driveway and your neighbor only has a easement which grants them permission to use the driveway. If it is a two-lane and you actually parked on your neighbor's driveway, then that's a different story.

You can also try to argue that you made a valid attempt to clean up the oil spill, but removed the cleaning product at your neighbor's request. It almost sounds as if the cleaner simply worked too well. If they had any objections to what you were doing, then they should have voiced them prior to you doing anything at all.

Right, when you say shared driveway, what does that mean? An easement by both of you?

Unfortunately, no, the neighbor had no legal responsibility to complain during the cleaning process. The Law would still hold the OP at fault for any damages due to negligence, oversight. I'm not sure either (negligence or oversight) exists here.

When I said that, I was assuming the cleaning product did damage. If the neighbor thought it was going to do damage, then I think it should have been their responsibility to address the issue rather than complain after it had been applied.

No, maybe it should be their responsibility but it isn't legally. Responsibility is squarely on the shoulders of the person using the product.

Of course, :D , if the product had killed somebody we'd be talking about a product liability case. Damage to a driveway and grass, not so much.

You only have to make it as it was, make the customer whole. You are not required by law to make it better.

(This should be its own thread - no one will see it piggybacked.)

I'm not sure if you arer asking a question here or relating your experience to help the OP. If you do have a question, please post it in a separate thread as we prefer not to mix multiple questions in the same thread. Normally I would just move your question to a new thread, however, since it does seem to answer the OP, I'd rather leave it and have you start a new thread if you need assistance.

Scott I assumed it was a new question and moved it. Someone reported it, and your comment was page two, and I did not read it till after I had alardy moved it. Sorry


But the issue here is first, you are getting to worried about what your neighbor things about the first item you put down on the stain, that the dealer funished, If you took it up before hand.

But the other issue is that you can not get oil up, you will only at best lighten it. But after you stopped using the product the dealer provided and starting using another product, it became your liablity for sure.

But the issue here is even the best degresser is not going to ever get the stain up completely, and if you did not rinse it completely after about 15 min to one hour max on the surface, if it did rain, it will leave streaks where it runs.

And to be honest there is no way to keep those type os oil stains up.

So if this is blacktop, you can put on a new cover of sealcoat, if it is concrete, even the best pro will not ever get it all up.
But if you do hire it done, make sure they use a hot water pressure washer to get best results in oil