Legal Question in Construction Law in New York

Re: Who''s responsible?

First, before you do anything else, notify your insurance company. This means a letter to the insurance company, NOT your broker. Get the address from your broker. Get it in writing. Then notify the insurance company of the claim. Do not leave this up to the broker: they almost always do this wrong and you have no real recourse at that point.

Second, if the leak was paid by an insurance company, there must have been a casualty to the house, such as a windstorm or tree falling onto the house. You're not responsible for that, and the insurance company almost certainly has no obligation to pay for any claimed poor workmanship on your part. If they were not obligated to make payment, then they are "volunteers," and the law does not allow an insurance company to recover payments made under a policy unles the payments were mandatory.

So after making certain that your insurance coverage is in place, I would tell the adjuster that he is a lying chunk of fertilizer and to sod off before you report him to the Insurance Department for disreputable practices (which can cost this guy his adjuster's license).