More details to this question:
I suffered significant water damage in my unit due to a burst pipe in my unit. The HOA said that it is a personal problem I had to fix because the pipe was in my unit. I have a plumber's report stating the pipe burst because of excessive water pressure. One of my neighbors told me that the HOA shut-off the water to the complex to make repairs. I had another plumber come and he identified that water pressure was too high because the bypass valve at the main water supply was left on. I have now been without a living area and kitchen for four months because of HOA's negligence to make sure water pressure was within the appropriate range. Insurance is covering most of the repairs but I will be out of pocket for some. Do I have a case to recover the out of pocket portion and for not having a living area due to HOA's negligence?
2 ANSWERS
Suing the HOA is tricky. These are your neighbors. You have to live with them. Win or lose, someday you are going to apply for something from the HOA Board, and Board's have very wide discretion to approve or disapprove almost anything.
Why not sue the plumber, instead? He probably has insurance for just this kind of mistake. It was his mistake that caused your damage, not the HOA's. When he complains to the HOA about being sued, you can honestly say that you realized it was not the HOA's fault and that you did not want to sue your neighbors. What a good guy.
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Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need.
Dana Sack
Answered on Dec 30th, 2015 at 9:22 AM
Estate Litigation Attorney serving Redlands, CA
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Price Law Firm, APC
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You might be able to recover your damages. First thing to do is to write a letter to the HOA demanding payment of your damages. When they dont' pay you, then you can sue in small claims court for up to $10,000.
Answered on Dec 25th, 2015 at 8:40 AM