Neighbor ruins laptop, denies any responsibility.

[elmuchoprez]

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

I live in a 3 story apartment complex, with the upper two levels enjoying a small (~6'x6') balcony. I rarely make use of this balcony, but today it was quite warm and I decided to sit out there on a lawn chair with my laptop and finish some work.

After being outside about about half-an-hour, my laptop and I were suddenly drenched in a downpour of soapy water. Basically, my neighbor decided it was a good idea to wash out a giant cooler, so she filled it up with soap, water and probably bleach in the bathtub, scrubbed it out, and then drug it to their deck (right above mine) and emptied it out. They won't let me see the cooler, but I'm guessing it was at least 10 gallons, probably more.

The downpour landed directly on me and my laptop. I immediately yelled for her to stop whatever it was she was doing, but the damage was done. I also managed to drop the laptop on the ground when it happened.

Now I have a laptop that doesn't work (won't boot past bios, not recognizing the hard drive).

The girl who dropped the water (who is the girlfriend of the guy on the lease, not an actual tenant) immediately started claiming that there was no way for her to know I would be home and on the deck at 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon. She also started saying it's been raining a lot lately and I should know that water flows from one balcony down to the another. She is sticking to the claim that while unfortunate, there was nothing dangerous about the water and that people are free to wash their decks whenever they feel like it, so this should be no different.

I payed $2200 for the laptop about 1 year ago. How should I proceed? Is she liable for the damage? If not her, what about the guy on the lease? Am I just out of luck? I'd much prefer (obviously) a new laptop since it was in perfect working order, but I'd settle for a repair job if that's all I could get.

 

[MountainDew]

I doubt it would really have anything to do legally with you being neighbors...unless their lease specifies not to dump things there. (it could) She's right in that it could rain or somebody could clean their balcony, but, that doesn't excuse stupidity or negligence. It would seem common sense to me not to dump something like that knowingly on the property below.

You can always take her to small claims court.

 

[NC Aggie]

Yeah, this sounds like a case for small claims court. However, before proceeding, I would make another attempt to settle this situation before filing a petition with the court and be specific in what you are asking for. The young lady, not her boyfriend, would be the liable party and it seems pretty clear cut to me that she's responsible.

 

[154NH773]

Determine who the person that dumped the water on you is (Name, address, etc.).
Get an estimate from a computer repair shop for the damages, ask them if they are willing to testify in Small Claims Court about the probable cause of the damage (water).
Send the person the bill, with a copy to the leaseholder.
If they don't pay, take them to Small Claims Court. I think you have a good case, although that doesn't mean you will win or ever get paid.
The fact that it could rain, and the direction water flows, has little consequence when they just dump water down on you without looking.