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Neighbor wants to sue me for...

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C

caymancal

Guest
What is the name of your state? Texas

I stained my fence several weeks ago with a semi-transparent stain. It was not a windy day (I specifically stained my fence that day because it was NOT windy), but I was using a sprayer (as opposed to a roller or paintbrush) and some stain may have floated onto my neighbor's garage door (overhead motorized door, not a door to enter the house).

He wants me to pay to repaint the whole thing. Honestly, you can only see the stain when you know what to look for and are standing within 18-24 inches of the door. The stains look like pinhead sized drops of the stain.

The problem I have with this is that his garage door has many other defects that are much more noticeable than the stains I may have caused. For example, the bottom folding panel on the door is not the same color as the top 3 panels, as well as there being several patches of mismatched paint colors. Even further, there are stains from another source that are different colored than what I potentially caused.

All in all, I feel that he is just tying to get me to pay for something he needs to have done anyway. I would like to try cleaning the stains I may have caused off with a solvent or cleaner, but he will not allow me to as he thinks this may damage the door even more (removing all the paint down to the metal of the door).

I'm about to tell him that I'm not willing to do anything more, but I'm worried that he'll sue me in Small Claims Court. What are the possibilities for a small claims court case?

If I did actually cause some stain damage, can I be forced to pay for the whole door to be repainted (which would *vastly* improve its condition beyond what it was prior to all this happening)?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks.
 


BL

Senior Member
If I did actually cause some stain damage [ quote ]

Earlier in your post you said it was stained with pin droplets.

So there is No, ifs, ands, or buts about that fact !!

You should offer to pay 1/2 the cost of the paint job.

Be sure to take pictures of the other mismatched paint and defects for your proof.

Is this a job the owner plans to do his self or professionally ?

Either way it's their choice. Tell the owner to submit a copy of the bill and you will pay 1/2 . If they refuse use your pictures as proof the door needed painting before this mis half.

Try being kind and neighborly about it.
 
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C

caymancal

Guest
Thanks for your reply.

I will admit that it does appear that I stained the door. My issue is that the stains that I believe I caused are MUCH less prevalent than other paint stains on the door, not to mention the other issues about it being painted two different colors and having splotches of paint on the door.

Everyone who has seen the door (except him obviously) has agreed with me that the neighbor is just being anal about this and trying to get a free paint job out of it.

When you drive by in the alley, you notice that it's painted two different colors. You also notice the splotches of different colored paint on the door. When you walk to within 3 or 4 feet, you notice a dark colored paint stain that I didn't cause. ONLY when you walk up to within 18-24 inches (I swear I'm being honest) do you see "my" stains.

My question is, if I'm being honest and this story is what actually happened, what do you think my chances are for prevailing in small claims court? I've offered to pay 25% of the cost for a professional paint job (or to help him paint it ourselves) but he wants the whole thing paid for by me.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Signed, Trying to be a Good Neighbor
 

BL

Senior Member
what do you think my chances are for prevailing in small claims court? [ quote ]

You have an excellent chance of paying minimal amount to .00 . , based upon your post.

As I stated, take pictures . Pictures are worth a thousand words.

It is up to the Plaintiff to PROVE why you should pay the entire cost.

Get them Pictures taken NOW.

Inform your neighbor he is lucky you are offering to pay 25% of the cost , once he submits at least 2 Estimates to you. And you will pay 25% of the lower cost. Also check around yourself for quote of a Job cost for a Door that size & make, to see if his price(s) are reasonable.

Also inform your neighbor if he does file small claims against you for the entire amount ,you will counter claim that the filing for that amount is "frivolous", meaning he has filed a claim in that amount that has no merit.

Filing a frivolous claim can lead to fine between $1,000.00 & $10,000.00 , although it is unlikely to happen, but it will deter him from making false claims.
 
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