Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

The responsibility to put the mailbox up or replace it is probably addressed in your HOA Documents and likely it ultimately your responsibility to take care of. Unless, the mailboxes are part of the HOA responsibility, check your HOA Covenants or take them to an attorney for review. However, the question of who should pay to fix it is different.

If the asphalt company did something negligent (or intentional) that resulted in the destruction of your mailbox, then they should compensate you to fix it, but they are only responsible for getting it back to the condition it was at the time they destroyed it. You don't get a "free upgrade" out of this. If the company is refusing to assist you, you may have to have the repairs done then seek reimbursement from them later, and may even have to take them to small claims court.

My suggestion is to preserve the old mailbox in the condition that it was in after the asphalt company hit it, take pictures of it, and document your conversations with the company representatives. then get 2-3 estimates for repair and choose one that is reputable and reliable to do the work. Keep the quotes and keep the receipts. Present a copy of the receipt to the asphalt company with a letter asking for them to pay for the damages. I would include copies of the photos of the damage as well. If they do not pay then your only real option is to file a lawsuit against them in Small Claims Court.

Depending on the cost of the repairs it may not be economically smart to do all of that, and hiring a lawyer to do it all for you would be expensive. If you are wanting to pursue it based on the "principle of the matter" then you have to forget the cost. I tell my clients all the time, "You can't put a dollar value on the principle, but your attorney can."

Some things to remember when talking to the asphalt company: you should talk to the most senior person in the business (if they have a large company you may be speaking with someone in "risk management"); you should try to remain calm and express yourself as clearly and calmly as you can; take accurate notes of your conversations including the name of the person you spoke with, the time you spoke to the, whether it was on the phone or in person, and a brief summary of the conversation; Don't threaten any action that you are not legally entitled to actually do; give them a reasonable chance to fix the problem if they try, and cooperate with them wherever it is reasonable; and don't try to get more out of the situation than you are entitled to. There was no bodily harm, only property damage. In most cases, in Florida you are only entitled to the costs of putting the property back into the condition it was in before the event.

I do wish you luck and hope the issue is resolved amicably and quickly.