Flooded Condominium: “Who’s Going to Pay?” When it comes to who pays for water damage, refer to the Civil Code for answers. By Mark Guithues, Esq.
L
et’s get the counter-intuitive part out of thewayfirstwhileyou’refreshWh. enit comestwoaterclaims,Californialaw generalldoy esnofot l oaw sourcerule. So just because the water came from within the upstairsunidot esnomtaketheupstairsunit ownerresponsiblefoal r resu l ltingflooddamage. Likewise,justbecausethewateroriginatedfrom thecom oar n eadoesnomtaketheassociation responsiblefoal r “co l nsequential”flooddamage. Rereadthisparagraphthreetimesbefore proceeding,otrherestofthearticlewilbe no sensical. Civ lode§4775(a)tellsus,paraphrasedas fol ows,whpay o sfopir perepairsand subsequentloyccur ingwaterdamage: “Unlessotherwiseprovideditnhegoverni g documents,theassociationsresponsiblefor repairing,replacing,andmaintaini gthecom on area,andtheownerofeachseparateinterestis responsibleforepairing,replacing,and maintaini gthatseparateinterest…”
6 The Law Journal Fall 2021 | cacm.org
Theassociation’sC &Rsandcondomin uplan definewhatiscom oar n eaversusseparate interestUsu . al,ly theysaysomethingliketheunit is“boundedbyandcontainedwith ne unfinishedinteriosur rfacesoftheperimeter walls,floors,ceilings,windowsanddoorsofsaid element,andtheairspaceencompassed thereby.”Thindrk ywallOw. nersgenerallrepai y r frotmhepainitward,whileassociations generallremy ediateandrepaitrhedrywall outward(includingceilings).stohepiperepai,r youCr&Rsmighstt ateeachowneris responsiblefo“pi r pesandalulti ynessolely servingtheunit”oimrtghmtakealpil pes (exceptthe“outletsthereofwith neunit”)the com oar n earesponsibilitoyftheassociation. WHAT ABOUT NEGLIGENCE? Ifanownerotrheassociationsclearlnyegligent imnaintaini gabrokenpipeoan r otherwater source,theycanbecomelegallrespo y nsiblefor theresultandam t age.Makingthatpartlyegally responsiblegenerallmyeansprovingtao court
thatthey:(i)hadalegaldutrepai yo r;(ii)knewor shouldhaveknowthattheleakwasoccur ing; and(ii )chosenotmaketherepaiIi.tsr difficult tdoo andthecosttgoo tco o urtpro oveyour actionftenexceedsthevalueofthewaterrepai. r WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE? Insuranceappearstch o angethings,buireal t ly doesn’tWh. enanassociationrw eropensa claiwmitheassociation’sinsurance,thenthe carrierwilscrambleandappoinat claimsadjustor whreads o thepolicyandC &Rsanddetermines whatrepairsare“covered”underthepolicyand thereforepaidfoby r insurance. Thebreadtohfthatpolicyshouldmatchobe r greaterthanthatcoveragerequiredbythe C &Rs.It’sastraighco t ntractreviewandit shouldn’tmatterwho nsthepropertbe yo repaired,asbotheownerandtheassociation areco-beneficiariesundertheinsurancecontract. (ndbecausetheownerandtheassociatioar n e
