New JerseyI am a top unit owner. The waterline to my fridge came lose one night and drained water into my living room (kitchen area is waterproof) and down into the condo below. I turned off the fridge water supply as soon as they woke me up. A Handyman came and fixed the pipe again but I did not turn the water on again. After the ceiling below dried (2-3 weeks), the handyman estimated more than $1K of damage - so I called insurance. They had a look at both our condos, and my damage was about $1K so it went from my deductible. For the people below however, my insurance denied liability on the basis that I was not negligient. The guy below complained to the Condo Association (CA). They sent me a letter saying im responsible which i forwarded to insurance. Insurance asked the CA for a copy of the bylaw which states im responsible. Turns out there is no such law. The CA now says I am right (I feel so bad but cant afford an extra 1-2K for his damage - besides I pay insurance for a reason). The guy below is going to court. Insurance says they will handle the case for me and I have nothing to worry. Im confused whether I should scrounge the money and pay the guy or let it go to court. A lawyer friend told me accident insurance might be not be covered under my policy. In which case if it goes to court - insurance can say accident is not covered and if the court rules in the guy belows favor - it all goes from my pocket including his lawyer fee.
Any ideas? Insurance sux. They should be paying for this. Has this happened to anyone?