David Scents
Junior Member
Name of your state: California
Thank you in advance for you advice.
About one year ago we had water pouring into our condominium from the condo above us; turns out that water came from a faulty pipe connection inside the wall of a common area adjacent to the upstairs neighbor. The upstairs neighbor suffered damage as well as me, I contacted my insurance company and they responded quickly and made/paid for all the damage repairs less a $500 deductible. My insurance carrier said they would refer this to their subrogation department and attempt to recover the loss from the HOA. Upon reviewing the governing documents of the association, there is a waiver of subrogation that I agreed to upon purchase of my unit. It was determined by the carrier’s subrogation attorney that “additional recovery efforts would be unsuccessful” and since they would not be recovering any of their loss I would remain out my $500 deductible. It was recommended that I pursue the HOA in small-claims court to recover my $500. In an ironic twist; the same day we received a letter from the Insurance Company not being able to subrogate, we discovered water pouring into our unit from a leaking air-handler with a plugged-up drain. Again our insurance responded quickly and once again we are out another $500 deductible. In both situations the building manager/board of directors representative has made a written statement regarding the source of the water, claiming no responsibility to it because according to a specified section of our CC&R’s “each homeowner shall maintain property insurance against losses to personal property…” In both cases the HOA paid for the repairs to the leak source and any related common area damage, but will not pay for my damage, or in this case reimburse my two deductibles. It is sort of a “license to kill”, the HOA can do what ever they feel, either intentionally or accidentally and never be responsible for their actions or lack thereof. I have filed in small-claims against the HOA for the $1,000 (two deductibles), what would you recommend be my argument in court?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Thank you in advance for you advice.
About one year ago we had water pouring into our condominium from the condo above us; turns out that water came from a faulty pipe connection inside the wall of a common area adjacent to the upstairs neighbor. The upstairs neighbor suffered damage as well as me, I contacted my insurance company and they responded quickly and made/paid for all the damage repairs less a $500 deductible. My insurance carrier said they would refer this to their subrogation department and attempt to recover the loss from the HOA. Upon reviewing the governing documents of the association, there is a waiver of subrogation that I agreed to upon purchase of my unit. It was determined by the carrier’s subrogation attorney that “additional recovery efforts would be unsuccessful” and since they would not be recovering any of their loss I would remain out my $500 deductible. It was recommended that I pursue the HOA in small-claims court to recover my $500. In an ironic twist; the same day we received a letter from the Insurance Company not being able to subrogate, we discovered water pouring into our unit from a leaking air-handler with a plugged-up drain. Again our insurance responded quickly and once again we are out another $500 deductible. In both situations the building manager/board of directors representative has made a written statement regarding the source of the water, claiming no responsibility to it because according to a specified section of our CC&R’s “each homeowner shall maintain property insurance against losses to personal property…” In both cases the HOA paid for the repairs to the leak source and any related common area damage, but will not pay for my damage, or in this case reimburse my two deductibles. It is sort of a “license to kill”, the HOA can do what ever they feel, either intentionally or accidentally and never be responsible for their actions or lack thereof. I have filed in small-claims against the HOA for the $1,000 (two deductibles), what would you recommend be my argument in court?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?