Glen Iris family says tree rubbing against overhead cable cost them $18,000
A family from leafy Glen Iris is threatening to take Boroondara Council to court, claiming a badly-pruned street tree caused $18,000 worth of electrical damage to their house.
Inner East
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A FAMILY from leafy Glen Iris is threatening to take Boroondara Council to court, claiming a badly-pruned street tree caused $18,000 worth of electrical damage to their house.
Ivan Mellado said the council street tree’s branch had been entangled with his Barina Rd house’s power cable for “quite some time”, eventually triggering voltage variations throughout the home last October.
Ivan Mellado said his family went without airconditioning during summer as they scrambled to fix damaged electrical appliances and fittings, and the damage totalled $18,113.
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“A year into this and I am sick of playing nice — I’ve had enough of talking to the council, the power company and the ombudsman,” Mr Mellado said.
“I’m a pretty patient guy, but I’ve had enough.”
Mr Mellado said the council’s public liability insurer admitted the tree was managed by the council, but claimed “in this instance, the council has not been found to have been negligent.”
Documents seen by the Leader showed the Energy & Water Ombudsman concluded the fault at Mr Mellado’s home was due to a branch rubbing on the overhead cable connecting into the house.
The council, not United Energy, was responsible for pruning the trees in Barina Rd, because Mr Mellado’s home was in a low voltage area, the documents said.
“This is nearly $20,000, which I just don’t have,” Mr Mellado said.
“I have had to redraw my mortgage in order to replace the heating during the winter because nobody paid me — I can’t afford to be out of pocket for this money.”
But council director of environment Bruce Dobson said the tree had been regularly pruned in accordance with specifications.
“This claim has been referred to (the) council’s insurers to assess liability,” he said.
Mr Mellado said he will lodge a claim in magistrates court if the council did not provide “adequate compensation” before October 22.
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