Legal Question in Business Law in California

Property damage caused by third party

My wife and another Dr. share an office space. They are two separate business entities sharing the space under an operating agreement. Recently, one of my wife's patient's child damaged the other Dr's photo album that has pictures of before and after treament information. The photo album is on the front office table, which is shared space. Does my wife have legal obligation to other Dr for the damage to her photo album or is the legal liability with the patient directly? I would really appreciate your response.

Sincerely,

--name removed--Wu


Asked on 12/15/04, 1:54 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Roy Hoffman Law Offices of Roy A. Hoffman

Re: Property damage caused by third party

Unless your wife had some prior knowledge that the child might destroy property, it should be the child's parent, not your wife. Moreover, if the book was in shared space and available to whomever picked it up, the other doctor might be out of luck in any event because they assumed the risk that the book would be damaged.

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Answered on 12/15/04, 2:01 pm
Daniel Harrison Berger Harrison, APC

Re: Property damage caused by third party

I would first refer to the operating agreement to see if it has any provisions addressing this issue. If not, I would say that your wife would not be liable as she had no reason to believe that the child would damage property. Also, practically speaking, one should expect some damage to an album left at the front table for public viewing.

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Answered on 12/15/04, 3:38 pm


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