Damage - who's responsible?

SparrowHawk

What would the legal position be if a For Sale sign damages someones property on rented land, considering that the owner of the property, on the face of it, accepted it was their fault & offered to pay for damages.
Would it be the owner of the for sale sign (who is the owner - the estate agent or the property owner?) or the property owner - given that he had accepted responsability?

Many thanks,

SH

johnnyskeleton

Was the sign on your building, or on your neighbours?

There would need to be a cause of action. Was the sign negligently put up, or was it in the circumstances negligent to put the sign up anyways (e.g. was it reasonably forseeable that the sign could fall and cause damage)? If it was negligently put up then the person who put it up would be the ideal target, and if it was just a bad idea then the landlord would be more appropriate.

It could also be both, in which case they could be concurrent wrongdoers and both could be sued. However, if the sign caused the damage because, for example, it was blown down by a freak wind, there may not be any actual negligence.

In circumstances where one person accepts liability, it would make sense to follow it up with them. On the other hand, if it is a very large claim, a good rule of thumb is sue whoever has the deepest pockets.

So I suppose it depends on the circumstances.

SparrowHawk

Lets assume - since this is a hypothetical situation - that the person is renting some living accomadation & the sign is attached to the perimiter wall of said accomadation & that it might be blown down by a strong wind.

If it doesn't cause too much damage - let's say €1000 for the sake of arguement - it would appear to make more sense to go to the small claims court. Would this seem like a sensible option - to follow the landlord?

johnnyskeleton

It might and it might not. While the small claims court is more of an arbitration service than an actual court (and in this i'm not disparaging them - they do excelent work), this person would still need to have an actual claim.

So the cause of the damage must be ascertained:

1. If it were the case that it is a completely unforseen accident, then there may not be a claim at all.

2. If the sign was negligently attached, then a claim might lie against the person who was negligent in putting it up (or their employer if they were acting as an employee).

3. If it was negligent in all the circumstances to put up such a sign, then a claim might lie against the person who was responsible for putting it up and maintaining it on the presmises (e.g. if it was put up at the landlord's behest).

4. It is also possible that there is a claim against more than one of the above persons.

So while I couldn't, even in this hypothetical situation, state who is responsible, the law generally follows common sense e.g. who was to blame?
If one of the parties accepted responsibility, then it would make sense to follow it up with them. However, accepting responsibility in a casual manner does not equate to legal liability.

For the owner of the property in such a situation, it might not be a bad idea to find out what the attitude of each of the parties is before an action is commenced, and if they are not willing to accept responsibility, try to find out who or what is to blame.