Reliance Building Forensics

The gentlemen that represented Reliance went through our home inside and out taking many photos and notes. Then wrote a report using his opinion of the site and cause for the damage.
On or about June 25, 2013 (after the utility work had been completed). Our home had experienced water infiltration into the basement and stucco falling off of the East wall directly above and around the gas meter construction.  After months of phone calls to Consumers Energy and the sub-contracting company "A1-Asphalt of Grand Rapids, MI" I chose to call my House insurance company "AAA" to see what steps I could take to have the damage repaired before the winter months.  the adjuster Chad Goodrow of AAA brought in a company to a**** the damage.  
Reliance stated in a report that water infiltrated into the basement during a rain event was the result of a crack in our foundation not the 2" difference in the height of the newly installed concrete sidewalk. He determines this by a discoloration on the basement wall inside.  He does state in his report (page 2, paragraph 4) "that the sidewalk alongside the home intersects the city sidewalk that was replaced as part of the utility project.  The surface of the new sidewalk is nearly two inches higher than the intersecting surface of the sidewalk alongside the home.  This would restrict water flow and could cause an accumulation of water on the sidewalk alongside the home, which could have contributed to the recent water infiltration into the basement. It is not possible to determine if the new sidewalk is higher than the old sidewalk.  If so, a drainage problem was created by the new sidewalk and could be a contributing factor to the recent basement water infiltration."
Page 3 begins with his opinion of how the stucco is falling off.  He states that the home shows "widespread repairs" to the stucco and cracking that existed prior to the utility work. The area of the detached areas on the east side, show metal lath that has rust on it indicating that the stucco has not been firmly attached to the lath.  Based on his observations, the stucco was not firmly attached to the home prior to the utility work.  Vibrations from the recent utility work could have caused parts of the loosened due to age-related factors.
To conclude I eventually took this to a lawyer and A1-Asphalt of Grand Rapids Michigan, removed the concrete sidewalk that they installed and replaced with the correct grade level and our basement has never been happier.  YES, NO WATER.
As for the Stucco on the side of the home, Ray Schafer of Schafer Plaster came out and reassessed the area in question and confirmed what we believed all along that the work done by Consumers Energy did create the falling of the Stucco.