Traffic alerts have dominated the news for the past week. Some schools and businesses are closed. And today I am going downtown for my small claims case against Con Ed, to begin at 9:30.
My case in brief:
I've been complaining about my electric bill since 1992, when I moved into my current apartment.
My bill is higher than anyone around me, even people with larger apartments, washer and dryers, and more AC usage.
Experts from Con Ed have come to inspect at least twice.
They offer suggestions — new lights, seal the door of my refrigerator,
But no one ever mentions that a decades old refrigerator could be the problem.
I get a new refrigerator in February of this year.
My bill immediately drops $50/month.
Shouldn't Con Ed have known, and mentioned that the problem could be the old, electricity-guzzling appliance?
I take Con Ed to small claims court. I've overpaid $50/month for 20 plus years; so suing for $5,000 does not seem unreasonable.
I leave my house at 8, in anticipation of all the Pope traffic. I arrive at Court before 8:30, absolutely no traffic.
Con Ed's lawyer, Ronald Vales refuses to arbitrate, so we go before a judge.
It's like being on Judge Judy, except Byrd (whom I always thought was Bert until I just checked it) is played by a very surly, loud, unprofessional guy, and Judge Judy is portrayed by Judge Deborah Rose Samuels.
There are people waiting for their own cases to be heard in the audience. I am actually nervous.
After Mr. Vales and I take oaths. I am asked to state my case and present evidence. I have a comparison of my bill before the refrigerator and after.
Mr. Vales calls a witness, a supervisor of Con Ed field inspectors. His report is filled with inaccuracies. I point them out, feeling a little bit like Perry Mason.
The judge listens patiently and then decides.
"Well I can understand your frustration," she says to me...
And then I know I've lost the case.
Basically, Judge Samuels doesn't want to set a precedent. "If Con Ed comes to your home to help you determine your energy efficiency, and this is done as a courtesy, they cannot be held liable for overlooking something. If I were to rule in your favor, this could potentially end the courtesy calls Con Ed makes, and this would end up hurting consumers in the long run."
Her argument makes sense.
I leave the court house not surprised, and walk out into a picture perfect day.
In this case I have to give this one to Con Edison, but all customers should be happy they wasted that money going to court. On my instance, Con Ed laid a huge cable across the sidewalk in front of my building. No sign, no protection. So someone said they fell and sued Con Ed, the condo, and the restaurant. Com Ed settled with them immediately, then sued the condo and the restaurant for our negligence. That would be, our negligence in Con Ed decided to put down this cable for two weeks which had nothing at all do do with us.
ReplyDeleteOur lawyers said we should just settle. Com Ed wins.