Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Liability for damage to apartment
I and my wife recently moved into an apartment. We were cooking dinner, and a small grease fire started which made some smoke. The smoke set off a sprinkler system in the apartment. we quickly put out the fire, but the sprinkler system wouldn't shut off. We called the fire department, and they couldn't shut off the sprinklers either. Finally, we used buckets to catch the water, so it wouldn't continue to damage the building. Now the landlord has told us we must to pay $10,000 to cover the repair of the carpet and floor in the apartment which was damaged by the water. The fire and smoke itself caused no damage to the building.

I believe the landlord should be responsible for the water damage, since he installed the sprinkler system with no way for us to turn it off, and the fire itself caused no damage. Do you agree?

Asked on 7/26/04, 3:03 am

Ken Koenen Koenen & Tokunaga, P.C.

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Re: Liability for damage to apartment

I would think that your landlord's insurance policy would cover the damage from an accident of this sort.

Answered on 7/26/04, 12:04 pm

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