Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to the complainant’s crazy paving. This is because the courts are best placed to determine any Council liability. It is therefore reasonable to expect the complainant to go to court to resolve her complaint.

The complaint

1. Mrs X says the Council’s tree has caused damage to her crazy paving. She would like the Council to accept liability and compensate her for the damage.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended).

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant. I also considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The Council has denied liability for the damages claimed.
5. We will not investigate as it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to now take her claim for damages to court. There is a simple procedure in the county court for dealing with small claims. We have no powers to compel the Council to compensate her for the claimed damage.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is reasonable to expect her to go to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman