Drain Field Replaced at Rental Property and Broken Cable Line Responsibility

[Chris G.]

We manage a property that was having drain field issues for awhile, got estimates and had the owner approve one of the vendors. Our office signed the contract and they got the permit and replaced the drain field. About 3 months have gone by and we just received an email from a communications company billing us $4,000 for breaking a communication line buried in the yard. I have the chain of emails between them and the contractor pretty much saying that they saw the cable but rather then calling they called after digging through the cable. After reading back through the contract it states the contractor isn't responsible for rocks, trees, driveways, or utility lines. Who would be responsible for paying this? The property owner, our management company, or the contractor? While they did mention they aren't responsible for utility lines aren't they suppose to stop digging and call the "call before you dig number" if they find a wire.