Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
hello, i've just moved to a new studio apartment. in a week or so friday night electricity went off, i called manager but she didn't pick up, so there was another emergency pager number for residents, me and my husband been calling and leaving our numbers 100 times, but no one got back to us, so we staid in dark apartment for friday and saturday , because our apartment is all electric (fridge, microwave, stove, and so..) all our food went bad and there was no way to cook anything or so, we decided to spend couple of days in friends house, so we left but when we were absent our sink start to leak, underneath the sink in the cabinet we had some very expensive electronic devise, new in the box.(because we have such a small place we keep our staff everywhere, where we can find an empty space...) It of course became damaged. I've talk to the manager and she told me get all receipts that you have and give it to me, month later, she ask me to send it to claims department and ask for compensation, so that's what i did, and just now , 3 month later i got a denied later, sad that landlord is not responsible for anything.
my question is there any way i can get any compensation for all damages that i got because of the old building that i'm living in, and landlord doesn't want to fix it on time
2 Answers from Attorneys
Anyone who thinks about it knows that sinks sometimes leak, even brand new ones. It was negligent of you to store electronics under a sink. So even if you prove there was some negligence on the part of the owner, it will be compared to your negligence in putting sensitive electronics under a sink and you will get very little if any compensation. You should have had renters insurance for your personal effects.
What was the cause of the power failure? My thought would have been to contact the utility, not the landlord. I agree with Mr. McCormick that landlord negligence was not the proximate cause of the damage to your electronic gear and the landlord is therefore unlikely to be found liable in a small-claims action.
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