Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

The girl friend of the owner of the condominium unit upstairs caused a massive water intrusion in my rental unit 3 years ago. She turned on the bathtub faucet and let water run for hours until the water flooded her unit and all the water came down to my unit. Around 45 thousand dollars was spent to do mold remediation and repair all the water damage. The insurance finally paid all the claims.

4 months ago, the same girl friend of the owner of the condominium unit upstairs caused another massive water intrusion in my rental unit. She turned on the bathtub faucet AGAIN and let water run for hours until the water flooded her unit and all the water came down to my unit. Around 40 thousand dollars has been spent to so far to fix all the damages. My insurance has paid for all the damages including loss of rent so far.

1) Can I sue the owner upstairs or his girl friend for nuisance, trespass, and causing me so much anxiety, etc?

2) Can I sue the owner upstairs or his girl friend for out of pocket expenses that I have incurred?

3) I have put my unit for sale. As soon as I disclose the water and mold damages that have happened to my unit, those who have seen my unit, ask me to give them a discount of 30/40/50 thousand dollars. Can I sue the owner upstairs or his girl friend for depreciation value of my property?

4) Can I follow any legal action against the girl friend in order to remove her from the property? She will certainly cause similar damages in the future.

God bless you for clarification.


Asked on 11/05/09, 11:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Melvin C. Belli The Belli Law Firm

Simple short answer yes you can sue your neighbor for any damages he caused you. Yu could also sue his girlfriend too. You would sue for negligence and trespass. These damages would be any out of pocket or possible diminution of the value of your condo but that will be difficult to prove in today's market. You have three years to file a lawsuit for property damage in California.

I do not think you could get a restraining order against her unless she was more of a nuisance. Perhaps the HOA could put some pressure on your neighbor but it is a long shot.

Hope this helps and good luck.

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Answered on 11/11/09, 1:03 pm


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