liability for fire damages, New York Civil Code

[drjudithvolpe]

A fire in my neighbor's condo two floors above me cause extensive water damage to my personal property and my apartment. i did not have home owner's insurance at that time. the neighbor's insurance company claims that it is not liable for the damages to the unit on the ground that the cause of the fire was never determined. i am taking him to small claims court in nyc and wonder if and how i need to prove liability aside from proving damages. the fire was not an act of G-d, nor was it cause by electrical fire or a flaw in major appliance, the wire department stated that the fire was caused by an external heat source which cause cardboard left on the counter top to catch on fire. Please help. Thank you. Am i on the right forum or is there a better one? thank you!

[madison12]

One of the things that every Massachusetts home owner is required to have when procuring a loan for a property is to have home owners insurance. Most banks and mortgage companies will not give someone a loan unless their home is insured.

Most loan documents will also give the bank the option of taking legal action against you if you do not keep your home insured. Keep in mind that the lender is not allowed to require you to insure the property for anymore than the replacement cost of the dwelling.

If you are paying cash for a property there is no law requiring you to have insurance coverage although it would be silly not too. After all a persons home is usually one of the biggest assets you will own. Murphy’s Law of course says that without insurance disaster may strike at any moment!

[drjudithvolpe]

I am not the legal owner of the unit. It is owned by a Nevada corp , set up for asset protection, and was a lot of work finding a commercial insurer that would insure for a reasonable sum; it can be much more expensive than a unit owned by an individual. As an ill person dealing with a life threatening condition and out of the country much of the time, it wasn't my top priority. Anyway, I won my case and got a nice judgment against my lying neighbor.