http://www.homelogica.com/liability-insurance-for-property.html
When does our liability start/stop with regard to damage caused to a neighbour’s property?
A ball which came from my house ended up in our neighbour’s gutter (we don’t know how it got there.) The guttering over-flowed and they claim it has cause significant damage to their property. I’d be grateful if anyone could advise where our liability starts/stops (our insurance company isn’t prepared to pay out.) Thanks.
In the US, if it can be proven that the ball ended up in the gutter because you were negligent in some way, you can be liable for all “foreseeable” damages.
Negligent is not the same thing as intentional.
Just because something is accidental, doesn’t mean it isn’t negligent. For example, if you are obeying all traffic laws and there is nothing you can reasonably do to avoid an accident, you are not negligent. But if you “accidently” hit someone while applying mascara as you drive, you are negligent.
So if a ball landing on a gutter is a reasonable, ordinary result of playing with the ball, and its landing on the gutter could not have been avoided by taking reasonable precaution–no negligence.
But you can see where the argument will lie.
Once you have been found negligent, you are responsible only for damages that are reasonably foreseeable, not for damages that are so far out there that no one could have imagined them occurring.
But I would guess most courts would find that a ball in a gutter can be reasonably expected to clog a gutter and cause damage.
On the other hand, the neighbor is required to “mitigate” damages. They might have avoided this if they regularly inspected and cleaned their gutters. They might have avoided more extensive damage if they investigated at the first sign of trouble instead of waiting for more time to pass. (An example.)
Turn the matter over to your homeowner’s insurance company and let them defend you. Sounds like you will need a defense.
(Gee wiz, I’m surprised to be disagreeing with you here!)
Florida Property Damage Insurance – Property Damage Liability MANDATORY $10,000!
