<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by
[email protected]:
I am renting a two bedroom apartment in San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley....extremely expensive!). The other day, I was very sick and I started to run a bath. Unfortunately, I had taken Nyquil and when I laid down on my bed to wait for the bath to fill, I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up to my landlord's face....his wife had come home and noticed that the carport was leaking water onto the cars below. My apartment is on the 2nd floor and luckily, no one lives below me. They knocked on my door and called my home but I was in a deep slumber. They entered the apartment with their key and found the place water logged. The apartment was not flooded but half of the livingroom and half of both bedrooms had drenched carpets. A water damage contractor was called to dry the floors and reinstall padding. The carpets are being dried, not replaced. Am I financially responsible for the damage as a renter? I feel extremely guilty and am almost inclined to pay the $3,500 in damages, but legally, what am I obligated to pay? Do I have any rights since it was my fault, although accidental? Will his insurance cover this? Should I offer to pay the water bill for the building? (it is only a tri-plex)....HELP!!!
-Aquatic Blues<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
Your are not responsible for day-to-day wear and tear, e.g., worn carpeting, painting, appliance breakdown. However (and here it comes) flooding an apartment is not "normal" wear and tear. This situation was caused by your negligence, plain and simple. Negligence is defined (very simply) as a duty, a breach of that duty, and damages. You had a duty not to destroy or damage the property of another, you breached that duty, and the breach caused someone else to suffer damages. Once they ask you for it (and they will ask), you would be responsible for the damages. We all realize that it was "accidental" which is why you can't get hit for damages for an intentional act of destruction of property. But, just because it was "accidental" doesn't vitiate or ameliorate your financial responsibility.
IAAL
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited March 18, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited March 18, 2000).]
