Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

Personal Property Damage

While my husband was spraying our home with latex paint one of our neighbors brought it to our attention that his car and three others were

covered with overspray from the paint sprayer. My husband agrees that he is responsible for this damage. He has had personal experience with a company that gave him an estimate to buff out the paint for $50 per vehicle. The tenants have found a company that gave an estimate of $100-$150 and are unwilling to go to the company my husband recommends. One woman in particular, (my husband can wipe the paint dust from the car with his finger) insists that we will pay her $250 insurance deductible to have her car "fixed". We have contacted our home owners insurance agent, but he refuses to take a claim at this time as our deductible is $500. Can we refuse to pay more than $50 per vehicle? As a side note, as soon as my husband became aware of the damage he urged them to take their cars to a car wash immediately. It has been over 24 hours and none of them have bothered to take any action. We are concerned that the longer the cars sit in the sun, the harder it will be to remove the paint dust-potentially incuring a higher repair cost to us. Can we limit our responsibility?


Asked on 8/04/99, 3:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Shovan Smith, Bovill, Fisher, Meyer & Borchard, P.C.

Re: Personal Property Damage

In your situation, liablity is uncontested. The only issue is the amount of damages. The injured parties have a duty to mitigate their damages. Make sure that you document your offer and advice to them in writing and mail it to them. Worst case: If they insist on an unreasonable resolution and you are unable to come to terms, let them bring a small claim action and consolidate the actions.

Please call with questions.

Mike Shovan

517 792 9641

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Answered on 8/09/99, 3:13 pm


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