I live in a gated community and the gate which was malfunctioning for a number of years closed on my (new)car and damaged it in 2 places (2 yrs ago) and its now rusty and the property management company refuses to pay for the repairs. They are responsible for ensuring proper operations of all aspects of the proprty. They let the gate go unreparied for 5 years and only fixed it after I sent many letters. DO I have a shot in small claims court? I don't want to waste my time or money if I don't. BTW- it's in AZ

Hello jill:

What are you suing for? Repairs to your car? You might be under the statute of limitations. I don't know. If so, and you can prove your case, you should win. I would sue BOTH the management company AND your HOA board of directors.

But, if you want to sue the management company for NOT doing their job, small claims court won't do it. You have a board of directors who should be doing the work of the association. The management company works for them.. Maybe you can sue your board. I would.

excon

PS> Is this condo on Indian School Rd. I know those people.

I'm trying to figure out why it took 2 years for you to complain about it.

Have you requested reimbursement from either the HOA or the property management before now?

I filed the complaint 1 day after the occurrence and have been arguing my point ever since. Ive called, written letters, when I walk into the office, the managers conveniently are not in.
I adamantly feel that I should not have to pay the $1500 repair. If the gate was functioning properly the accident would not have occurred in the first place. As I was passing through it, it froze and then proceeded to close as I was moving through it. The mgmt co. stated that the board denied my request.

Got it.

I would sue both of them. The management company and the HOA.

How many months? Was it 23 months or less, 24 months or more?

It may be that the statute of limitations has run. In most states, the statute of limitations for a tort claim is 2 years (24 months, 730 days). One day over and you have no lawsuit.

If you take legal action then the proper defendant is the condominium corporation and not the property management company which is simply an agent of the condo corporation. When you are dealing with an agent-principal situation it is the principal who is ultimately responsible.