Crack after crack in his ceiling, tile and brick, it appears Raul Gonzalez's home is coming apart.
Gonzalez estimates he’ll pay $75,000 in repairs.
"You feel horrible," said Gonzalez.
The Penitas man blames Fidelity Exploration & Production Company.
Fidelity is drilling for oil in Gonzalez's neighborhood.
"I have seen a lot of deterioration on my house since they started drilling,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is not alone.
"We saw that the problems were not just a few homes but a lot more," said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is one of 68 plaintiffs suing Fidelity.
"I want them to pay for the damage they have caused, and for the six to seven months they didn't let my family sleep,” said Gonzalez.
Noise from where oil is drilled is what Gonzalez said kept his family awake and scared his young children.
"One of my daughters along with the son of a neighbor (were) having problems at night,” said Gonzalez. “Kids that were already potty trained starting having problems at night urinating."
In Fidelity's original answer to the lawsuit, the company denied being responsible for the neighbor's problems.
The company is based in Colorado.
A spokesman talked to Action 4 News by phone.
"Our practice is to follow industry standards for drilling, and we think we've done that,” said Fidelity Exploration & Production Company spokesman Tim Rasmussen. “We need to conduct discovery. We need to investigate the claims, and that has yet to be done."
Reporter: "You did say you have not investigated the claims yet, so how can you deny them?”
“Well, that will come through as the court case matures," said Rasmussen.
Gonzalez said he wants Fidelity to pay up.
He hopes his lawsuit won't fall through the cracks.
No trial date is set.
Both sides are still in the discovery process.
Count on Action 4 News to keep you posted on any developments.
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