I am planning to file a claim against my Homeowners Association for a plumbing dispute. I had a back-up in the common kitchen line, and they refuse to accept responsibility for damages. I

1. f I file the claim, and they move to go to county court and I lose, would I be liable for their legal fees? Is there any way this could backfire on me and I could end up spending losing more than my court costs?

2. Does anyone know what kind of case I would have? I have a strong letter from my plumber stating that based on where the clog was, it would have had to be in the common line, and he wrote "common line" on the invoice. The damages were $320. What evidence would I need to bring besides the plumber's letter to make my case? The plumber's letter and invoice are my main pieces of evidence. There are no diagrams of the building layout available.

3. How do I serve the HOA? The management company is their spokesperson. Should I list the name of the property manager, or just the HOA?

4. Will this be in the county where the condo complex is (where I live) or where the property manager is located?

Thanks in advance.

Sue the builder.

If it is determined to be a frivilous lawsuit, yes, you could be responsible for their legal fees.

You need more than a "strong" letter from a plumber, You need a letter that says, "THIS is what caused the problem." Anything that can be contested most likely will be contested by the HOA.

Your HOA lists the name and address for legal papers to be served - that's the info that you use.

Your HOA should list the County where legal actions are to take place - could be either, depending on the corporate set up.

Thanks for the help.

In fact most likely you need the plumber to actually testify, You should have photos perhaps showing what caused the clog. A photo showing the plumbers estimate of where the clog occurred. And a detailed explain on how he determined where the clog was.

The other side may wish to see that the plumber was licensed, not just company but the actua plumber. *** you would be surprised of the number of unlicensed people some of those fancy name places send out.
*** side note, there is one of those fancy named national companies I would not even let on my property, they lied so bad about the problem.

This guy is licensed and has 10 years' experience. He was 80 hours away from his master plumber license. He probably has it by now. He said that if the units are vertically stacked (which they are) there will be a common line. However, he said it would be a better case if we could see a diagram of the building to see where the pipes run. Naturally, the HOA is claiming they don't have such a document. Makes me wonder how the property manager and maintenance guy are so sure I clogged my own drain. There is no way to prove who/what clogged the drain. He found black grease in it, which wasn't mine. It could have been there for 20 years, for all we know. He can only say that based on where the clog was and where the water was pouring from, I could not have clogged my own drain and that it was the common line.

I think if the HOA had worded their response a little nicer, I would have let it go. But they actually accused me of clogging my own drain. They basically accused me of fraud. This really upsets me.

I investigate liability matters and my word of advice would be that a lawsuit or other legal action in an attempt to teach someone how to treat other people, how to behave civilly, is always a mistake. That's not the purpose of the legal system and it never works.

I've investigated accidents where party #1 sues party #2 because party #2 was "rude" at the accident scene. A whole lot of money and time later it's still what it was - same fault, same damages, nobody feels any better about the whole thing - and the rude person is still rude.

The issue at stake is whether there is a common line in the building. 6 plumbers I've spoken with insist that there is ALWAYS a common 2" line running vertically in stacked units. Without diagrams, however, the only evidence I have is the word of the plumbers I've spoken with, including the one who snaked out the line.

There is another way. I could have a plumber run a camera down the line. That would show beyond a doubt that there is a common 2" line. But it would cost me additional money to do it. I am considering this.

When I said I would have "let it go", it's only because of the time and expense and trouble involved in suing. Not because I think there is even a minor chance they are right. I was just venting here, which I would not do in court. It certainly would be a considerable time and expense, even if I won. I just want to do it on principal because I am not the only owner who will have this problem. Also because it could happen again at any time if someone puts something else down their drain.

I just don't know how many facts I need to present a strong case. It seems that a letter from a licensed plumber who actually came here and fixed the problem would be a strong piece of evidence. Seems it would depend if the judge/magistrate has ever lived in or owned a condo or apartment. It is fairly common knowledge among anyone who knows anything about condos and apartments that there is a common 2" line.

Thanks again for your thoughts.