If an oil company delivered oil to my residence in error, am I obligated to pay for their mistake?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If an oil company delivered oil to my residence in error, am I obligated to pay for their mistake?
Neighbor ordered from discount oil company. They entered my fenced locked yard in error and delivered oil to my tank. Now want they want me to pay. However I pay my own oil company for contract and set priced oil deliveries. Does this discount fuel company have the right for payment for oil I did not order or authorize delivery of?
Asked on May 10, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, New York
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
While you don't have to accept the delivery and pay, you can't the oil without paying for it--if you refuse to pay, you would have to allow them to pump the oil out. (If you keep something wrongfully delivered to you, you have accepted it; also, it would be "unjust enrichment"--something the courts disfavor--to keep oil without paying for it.)
You have to offer them the opportunity to reclaim their oil; if they instead try to sue you for the money, you would raise as a defense that the delivery was in error and you gave them the opportunity to recover their oil. Therefore, you should put your refusal to pay and you offer to let them reclaim their oil in writing, sent some way to them that you can prove delivery.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.