Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Reside in condo. Garage door damaged my car (faulty sensor). Did not report the garage door coming down on my vehicle at the time. The assoc. later sent me a letter claiming I owe them money for damage. Jerk reaction was to pay. After the fact, I decided to ask them for photographic proof of the garage damage after discovering brand new garage door motion sensors have now been installed. After re-reading the letter, the dates they are alleging are incorrect and inconsistent with the incident and the date of price estimate they gathered. In summary and hindsight, the garage door sensor was faulty, caused damage to my vehicle and the garage door, I was quick to pay without thinking it through later realizing that the fault was due to a defective motion sensor which I should have reported immediately after the incident. Is there anything I can do now?


Asked on 5/13/15, 7:15 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Messutta

1. Did you ever think of getting your own auto insurance company involved? That may also be too late but . . . 2. You can always go of record (certified letter....) to the Association warning of the problem and then if there is another car damaged the board members could be liable for negligence under their directors & officers' insurance policy for neglecting something that could be dangerous and hazardous. 3. You might be able to call the local building department, but if they don't permit and license the doors (and most don't) they may say they have no jurisdiction over it. 4. Since they contest everything, sounds like you'd have to sue to get the money back. 5. If you're thinking of helping yourself by short-paying any assessments, that could lead to your eviction.... 6. So read the bylaws, rules and procedures for contesting fines and damages. All you may have at this point is a lawsuit.

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Answered on 7/07/15, 7:38 am


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