Condo Liable for Dry Cleaning?
I live in an 8-unit self-managed condo in Boerum Hill, and recently one of the sprinkler pipes leaked through the ceiling of another unit, causing damage to the ceiling but also soaking some clothes that the renters say need dry cleaning. The condo will foot the bill for the plumber and the ceiling repairs, but…
I live in an 8-unit self-managed condo in Boerum Hill, and recently one of the sprinkler pipes leaked through the ceiling of another unit, causing damage to the ceiling but also soaking some clothes that the renters say need dry cleaning. The condo will foot the bill for the plumber and the ceiling repairs, but would a condo association normally be responsible for the dry cleaning? I feel like that’s the reason people should have their own insurance, and if the renters didn’t have renters insurance that’s on them. If we imagine the situation in the extreme, would paying for dry cleaning now set a precedent that we’d need to pay for an apartment’s worth of personal property if the whole unit flooded, etc?
Or on the other hand, should we pay it since it’s so minor and probably smaller than our insurance deductible, while larger damage would be an insurance issue.
dibs, I admit I’m not an expert on condos, which this is. But I am fairly expert on coops so this may or may not apply.
In a coop, if there is damage to an apt, no matter whose negligence, it is the corporation’s responsibility to repair the damage to elements that are not decorative. In this case, the corp would have to remove and replace sheetrock, and patch and prime. That’s it. The shareholder would have to paint, and absorb any losses to any other decorative elements, such as tile, wallpaper, personal belongings, etc.
That’s why I mentioned the Picasso. You can’t expose the corp to unlimited liability nor would the corp be able to know what is in each shareholders apt. It is up to the shareholder to insure themselves for their own personal belongings, whether Old Navy or Old Masters or a Viking stove. And it’s why a well-run coop will insist that each shareholder carry their own insurance and demand proof of same on a regular basis.
Maybe it’s different in condos but I can’t see how when there is the same exposure to common elements such as walls, plumbing, etc.
And to follow up with what NSS said, it would be particularly difficult to prove negligence concerning a sprinkler system since it has to be pressure tested once a year. Unless it wasn’t.
Dave – Why is the owner of the pipe negligent. Negligence means a willful diregard for a duty of care owed or failure to perform.
I encounter these issues all of the time when insurance company’s try to subrogate for damages. Just because the pipe burst doesnt mean negligence. Negligence is a tough thing to prove and easy to defend, especially in the instance of a pipe burst.
Can you prove the condo board knew the pipe was faulty or rotted, and prove they knew imminent breakage was about to occur, and that they choose to ignore it or did something that they knew would cause it leak or break? All of these questions will be asked in a negligence case.
If you are a unit owner and decide to take a baseball bat to your pipes, is the condo board responsible to cover the ensuing damages? Same situation, you are trying to say the condo board did something negligent that caused damages and should pay. Good luck proving that unless you plan on hiring investigators and engineers to prove it ($$$), the renter is on his own to cover damaged contents.
Whoever “owns” the pipe can be held negligent. If it were a burst dishwasher hose in a unit it would be the responsibility of the unit owner. In this case, it sounds like it is the responsilility of the coop.
There is no evidence of “Negligence” from the facts the OP stated. The association has no liability for the contents unless negligence can be proven (Difficult with a pipe burst) If an individual unit owner/occupier caused the leak by doing something negligent, than he/she could be held repsonsible.
I am going with Denton on this one. No liability unless the board acted negligently. If you include it in the claim to the insurance company, it will be denied.
If the condo assoc’s negligence resulted in damage to a picasso, why wouldn’t it be liable? Pay the dry cleaning bill.
I disagree w dibs, which is fairly rare. The condo assoc is only responsible for walls in, not contents or decorating. It is up to the renter/unit owner to file with their own insurance.
For example, if the renter had a million dollar Picasso on the wall, would the association be liable? No.
You could of course pay the renter and have them sign a non disclosure agreement.
The condo is the one liable so the tenant should file a claim against them, or you could include it with your ceiling repair claim.
Yes, the renter should have renter’s insurance but you’re also right that the claims may not exceed the deductible. Depending upon the amount you could pay it yourself, which would be nice but, yes, it does set a precedent.