Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Owner responsibility utility bills after 5 1/2 yrs.??

The general rule of law is that money paid to another, or for the account of another, in a mistaken belief that the person paying the money was obliged to pay it, but really wasn't, must be refunded to the payor by the recipient UNLESS two conditions are met: (1) the person receiving the mistaken payments, or their benefit, was also unaware that he or she was not entitled to the money or benefit, and (2) the accidental beneficiary has materially changed his or her position in reasonable reliance upon being entitled to keep the money or benefit.

You seem to meet test #1 because you were truly unaware that you should have been paying the electric bills yourself (or at least you say you were unaware, and I'll give you the benefit of any doubt).

Whether you have materially changed your position in justifiable reliance on a belief you were entitled to this $15,000 windfall is a factual question I can't answer. If you are a wealthy investor and being plus-or-minus 15 grand or so over 5 1/2 years didn't have an appreciable effect on your lifestyle, you probably don't meet the second test for being entitled to keep the benefit and not pay it back. On the other hand, if you are a poor retired widow just getting by on Social Security and your income from this condominium rental, and used the extra income from not having the electricity bill burden to give your grandchildren (for example) Christmas gifts you might not have otherwise, you almost certainly meet the second test. You can legally keep the money if you meed BOTH tests.

As a practical matter, you would also have a statute-of-limitations defense to paying back the older electricity billings. Since this is an obligation arising out of a contract-type situation and it is not in writing, I think the statute of limitations is two years, so any part of the bill which is now more than two years old could not be recollected from you by lawsuit.

Therefore, a reasonable offer in compromise might be to pay everything that's less than two years past the bill date, but nothing older, since that's the most they could get in a suit (I think).

Or, if you meet both parts of the test to have the right to retain a benefit conferred by mistake, stand your ground and pay nothing.