Legal Question in Consumer Law in District of Columbia
payment of debt
A neighbor of mine has a small lawncare bussiness, and was trimming my lawn. He was using the ''weedwacker'' near my front door which is made of expensive designer glass.I heard a loud noise, ran to the front door and opened it to see a spider web crack forming on the glass. I told him that the weedwacker kicked up rock and broke the door.
Can I take him to small claims court on this?
Does he have the legal right to shop aroud for a cheaper price?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: payment of debt
If your neighbor caused the damage to your door and seeks to repair it he is entitled to secure at least two reasonable estimates that have a reasonable likelihood of returing the door to at least its approximate condition at the time it was damaged. He can then use the cheaper of the two estimates to have the door repaired.
However, if for whatever reason the repair is unsatisfactory or not up to the standards of the door prior to its damage and the neighbor refuses anything further, you then could file your case in small claims court. (If the repair had already been done, it's possible that the court might award you damages with an offset for
the reasonable value of whatever repair work had
been completed.)