Litigation
One meter became of decisive importance when deciding about a destroyed fibre cable
By how far may the actual location of a sub-surface fibre cable deviate from the location registered with the authorities? This question was decisive during legal proceedings about liability and a claim for damages, and therefore exact measuring became essential.
Before a contractor began site works, he obtained information – which he is required to do – from the register in which all Danish cable owners register the location of lines and cables. The information showed that a fibre cable was located right where the contractor was to carry out excavation, however, when the contractor began the digging, there was no fibre cable.
The contractor carefully continued digging in the area in which the cable had been registered to be, and eventually the machines commenced the actual excavation. Meanwhile, it showed out that the cable had been placed about 2 meters away from the location that had been provided in the register, and it resulted in the contractor destroying the cable.
The phone company claimed damages and the decisive question was of course how far away from the location registered, did the fibre cable actually lay?
Jacob Fenger, partner at Holst, represented the contractor, and his services comprised, among others, a survey report of the digging location at which the situation was re-created, and the distances were mapped out very precisely. This entailed that both the district court and the High Court acquitted the general contractor, and the judgment now constitutes a benchmark on how similar cases shall be decided – and where the contractor must expect a deviation of 0.5-1 meter compared to what has been registered, whereas 2 meters is too much.