Question : Condo assoc levying special assessment or increased dues due to clogged drains causing K in dmg. Can they?
an owner of a unit (yet to be determined), put cat litter down the drain and caused over $ 50K in damage to another unit. the condo association insurance company has declined coverage because the association was not at fault. the plumber has said that the clog was caused by kitty litter. now the association is going to impose a special assessment or increase dues on the entire condo unit in order to pay for the repairs. i should not have to pay for someone else’s intentional act. and i’m sure putting kitty litter down the drain is against CCR or condo rules. can i fight this?
condo assessment insurance
Best answer:
Answer by MT C
This is a legal issue and I am NOT a lawyer, however it does appear that you might have a case at least against the offender if not the association. I would check with a ambulance chaser to see what is legal and what is not.
Of course you can fight it. Whether or not you are sucessful is the question.
First of all, $ 50K USD is a very large amount of damage. Is it really accurate?
Second, why is the association getting involved in this? From what you are saying, it really is not their business.
The owner of the unit that suffered the damage was harmed, not the association. As such, they are the ones who should be taking action, not the association. That aspect needs to be addressed. Hopefully, the association will back off when they are challenged. Unless there is something else going on, they need to mind their own business.
The owner of the damaged unit needs to sue the owner of the unit who put the unacceptable substance down the drain. A reasonable person would know better than to put kitty litter down a drain. The fact that they did it is negligence. They can plead ignorance, but I doubt it will fly.
Anyway, it should be totally between those two owners. As such you, and your fellow owners should not be liable, nor even involved.
Kitty litter is probably not specifically listed as prohibited in drains, but there should be a blanket rule that says you can not put non-soluable items down the drain. Again, this is an issue of what a reasonable person should know.
Technically, certain kinds of kitty litter is somewhat soluable. In reality, it is considered non-soluable.
Bottom line, this should not involve you at all. You need to get an association board that is at least a tiny bit competent, yours isn’t.