What to do if a condo HOA hired an uninsured contractor who caused overspray damage to 13 vehicles but the HOA insurer says that the HOA is not liable?
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What to do if a condo HOA hired an uninsured contractor who caused overspray damage to 13 vehicles but the HOA insurer says that the HOA is not liable?
Asked on February 8, 2015 under Real Estate Law, Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
1) You can sue the contractor--the fact they are uninsured does not mean that they can't be sued or wouldn't have to pay; it just means that they don't have insurance to pay for them and would have to pay out of their own pocket. If the contractor is not an LLC or corporation, you could sue the owner(s) personally as well.
2) You could sue the individual workers who negligently (carelessly) damaged the vehicle--they may well not have money to pay, unfortunately, but legally they could be liable.
3) You may be able to sue the HOA not because they are necessarily liable for the actions of an independent contractor, but because they may have been negligent (unreasonably careless) in selecting an uninsured contractor (and possibly unlicensed as well?) to do this work.
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