Flood In Apartment - Some Questions

[vcoheda]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

Here is the situation. I live in a 5-story condo on the 4th floor. I rent from the owner of that unit. Have lived there for two years. Have not had any problems. Today, I flushed my toilet and it flooded. It wasn't even after using it. I think I saw a piece of toilet paper in there or something, so flushed it. When i flushed it, something just snapped or broke. Water came shooting out of the toilet as if from a fire hydrant. There is a valve on the wall next to the toilet, which I assumed shuts off the water. I tried to turn it a few times using all my might, but it would not move. It seemed to be rusted or more likely painted shut. I called my landlord. Not home. Called the management company. Recorded message. Called 911 and police and fire department responded and eventually turned off the water using various wrenches. By this point, everyone has been notified.

The water caused damage - both structural and property - to some of the apartments directly beneath mine. Now I assume this issue will mostly be handled by my landlord and his insurance company on the one side and the property management company working with the various affected tenants on the other.

My question is: Other than maybe giving a statement, what is my role here, if any, and could I have any liability?

Thanks

 

[Hot Topic]

Were you told what had caused the toilet to turn into Old Faithful? You're going to need some kind of documentation to prove that you aren't responsible for what happened.

 

[JETX]

Other than maybe giving a statement, what is my role here, if any, and could I have any liability?

Depends largely on the exact cause of the leak. If it is a burst pipe or broken plumbing, you should not be liable. However, if the flooding was caused by your negligence or malicious activity, you could be liable for all the damages.

 

[MIRAKALES]

It would appear that tenant would not be at fault or liable for damages, based solely upon the information provided by tenant. The “missing link” is what actually “snapped or broke” and caused the toilet to spout water. Tenant took appropriate measures to remedy the problem -- shut off valve, emergency notification (LL), and emergency assistance (911). Tenant could have made further attempts to interrupt water flow by acquiring a wrench from another tenant, turning off the water main to premises (if accessible), etc.
The LL and the insurance company will undoubtedly investigate the cause of the matter. The part that “snapped or broke” will be instrumental in determining the cause.

 

[vcoheda]

A plumber is coming tomorrow to fix the toilet.

I will ask him what the problem was and get something in writing. I looked carefully over my lease and all sections on damage basically say the same thing - that I am only liable if negligent; otherwise, the landlord is responsible for everything. I can't imagine that I was negligent in any way, as my toilet had been working fine with no problems or issues. My landlord is a pretty good guy, but you never know.

I will update this thread when I get more information. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ecmst12]

If you were not negligent, then the landlord is responsible for repairing the toilet and any damage to the structure. He is NOT responsible for your or any other tenant's damaged property though, unless HE was negligent (meaning he knew there was a problem with the toilet and refused to fix it in a timely manner to prevent the catastrophic failure, which you have NOT indicated is the case). Accidental damage to tenant's personal property falls under renters insurance.

 

[vcoheda]

Assuming neither myself nor my landlord are responsible for the damage, then who typically would pay for the repairs to the other apartments?

 

[HuAi]

The owner of the apartment below you will report it to his insurance company, who will pay for the damage and then possibly go after you or LL if it thinks that it can prove one of you was negligent. For example it may be negligent of LL to paint in the valve.

 

[vcoheda]

I requested an incident report from the fire department and police department, as both responded to my 911 call. The request for the fire department had to be in writing, so I faxed a short letter to them. The police said I could just stop by in 1-2 days and a report should be available for pickup. Still waiting for the plumber. Spoke to him this morning. Said he would be here at some point.

Trying to build my case of non-negligence. I'm hoping that the owner of my apartment will just resolve this whole thing via his insurance company, but that may be thinking too optimistically.

 

[ecmst12]

Since neither you nor LL were negligent in causing this leak, I don't believe either of you can be held liable for the damage to the downstairs apartment.

 

[vcoheda]

I spoke to a friend who has some experience with these types of lawsuits.

He said that most likely what will happen is that the affected tenants will try to submit bills directly to me or my landlord or both (in person, via mail, or through the building supervisor), or they will make claims through their insurance carriers and then the carriers - depending on the amount - may try to collect that sum or a portion of it from me and/or my landlord.

In the first instance, he said I should just refuse to accept any bills or if sent by mail, return it to the sender, or forward it to my landlord. The second scenario would result most likely in a suit in small claims court, where I could either represent myself or get a lawyer. And the first scenario - being submitted bills directly which I refuse - could also result in a small claims suit. Either way, I may be looking at a suit in small claims if some of the damage seems worth pursuing. He said I should gather as many documents as possible and avoid making any statements about the incident to other tenants, the super, etc. Just take a wait and see approach.

So we shall see.

 

[ecmst12]

Do you have renter's insurance? If so they will defend you against any claims including legal defense in any lawsuit. However I find it unlikely that either of you will be sued if there is no evidence of legal liability. Accidents happen, it is part of life and a risk of home ownership. If no one is negligent, then no one can be made to pay and that is what insurance is for (among other things).

If you do receive any bills or demands for payment, and you have insurance, report the claim to them so they can defend you. If not, keep copies of everything and respond that you are not liable for this damage, and see where it goes from there.

 

[vcoheda]

Toilet has been repaired, finally.

Official diagnosis is a broken flushometer. Looks like it just broke down due to wear. I assume maintenance of the toilet is my landlord's responsibility. And it basically says that in my lease as well. I also got the incident report from the fire department. It doesn't say much - only that they found the toilet overflowing and "shut off flushometer valve." Plan to get the police report today, but I bet that will be even more sparse.

I think if anyone is liable (and maybe no one is) it would be my landlord. He is responsible for general maintenance in the apartment, including plumbing, and the valve that turns off the water to the toilet was painted shut, which is also something that he did (or had someone do). So I'm feeling a lot better about this whole thing now and I think all of the advice given has been helpful. If I do receive any bills, I will just forward them (or a copy) to my landlord, or respond that I am not liable, or both.

As for renter's insurance, I don't have any. I know this is stupid. I plan to get some right away. This incident has taught me that I need coverage - for personal property or potential liability - in case anything goes wrong.

 

[vcoheda]

Well. It seems like my landlord (the owner of the unit) is going to handle everything through his insurance company - all the repairs/bills to his apartment as well as others. So I'm happy about that. My whole thing is that I just didn't want to be involved, as being involved might lead to someone wanting you to pay for something.

So this whole incident is hopefully resolved. Thanks to everyone for comments/advice.

 

[ecmst12]

But....did you get the insurance?