Owners assotiation responsibility

[mamrut]

A pipe in a traffic circle (in my neiborhood) broke and, due to low temperature, created ice on the road (around the traffic circle).
When going thru the traffic circle my car slipped and the front wheel suffered damages for about $ 950.
Do I have any rights against my owners assotiation ? Their insurance company claims that the broken pipe is an "Act of God" due to unusual low temperatures in Florida.
Should I sue them in Small Claims Court ?

Thanks,
David

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

You have to ask yourself, first, "What is their negligence ?" If you can't answer that question, then you don't have a lawsuit, and if you were to sue, it would be a waste of the court's time, and yours.

Negligence is basically defined as :

Duty, breach of duty, and damages.

So :

1. What was their duty owed to you ?

2. How was that duty breached ?

3. Were there damages suffered as a result of that Breach of Duty ?

If a dangerous condition or defect in property is caused by a natural occurrence, then there is no Breach of Duty, and therefore, no negligence.

Even if you could prove a negligent occurrence, now we get into the legal area known as "Notice". Did they have Notice of the dangerous or defective condition of their property ? E.g., did anyone tell them that a pipe had broken before your incident happened ?

If the answer to the Notice issue is no, or unknown, forget about it.

Make a claim to your own insurance company.

IAAL