legal question

[gimp]

All right, I have a question here. I'm on the top floor of my dorm, and the roof leaks. The school knows it leaks, I told them a while back, and their fix for it was a bucket. It stopped leaking for a while and I just forgot about it. They said it was leaking before because all the ice that was in the cracks was melting. Obviously there isn't any ice anymore. I tried to keep the area clean, but somone put my guitar under there, and it started leaking again. So a bunch of water dripped on the neck of my guitar, and messed up some of the frets. Now I have to get it repaired. Here's my question. Is there anyway the I could get the school to pay for that?

[Potatoboy]

I'm no expert, but it seems like the best thing to do yould be to pay out of pocket so that it's done (or at least get a written description of charges from the store) and take it to the school, if they do not pay it that way, then you may want to look into going to a small claims court.

[ThePatriot]

I dunno, it just seems like a bad idea to ask the university, can you give me some advice as to how i could sue you and win? It doesnt work like that...the university isnt going to give u assistance in sueing themselves, i believe if they do not pay for it, you write them a letter saying you have an attorney ready and will take action if necessary. This usually scares them enough to make them pay up, they dont wanna risk a huge lawsuit(i know its a small item, but the juries these days give out massive amts, think of the Mcdonalds coffee lady.)

[Chris]

You may also want to check out your parents Homeowners insurance. They usually cover the kids when they go off to college in the dorms. Give them a call and ask them what they think.

-Chris

[hawpunch]

gimp,

check out the school lease agreement that you signed when you moved into the dorm. the lease should outline what the school is responsible for and what you are responsible for. most lease agreements dictate that the owner of the apartment is responsible for all major maintenance to be done to the building. the school should not be excused for not taking the proper steps towards fixing the problem if it is outlined in your lease agreement. a bucket does not count as a repair...i doubt any judge would agree that it is if a case like yours goes to court. just go to the university housing office, ask for a copy of the lease agreement, underline the section that dictates who is reponsible for major repairs, and if it the university, go to the housing office and file a complaint about the damages. be persistent but do it with a measure of civility. i wish i could help you out more, but i don't know all the facts of your case, and i have yet to take the bar so i'm not qualified to give out legal advice per se. so this is more like my common knowledge advice .

aloha,

[gimp]

cool, I think I'm gonna take hawpunch's advice, it seems like the best idea. I'll head to res-life tomorrow.

Thanks!

[hawpunch]

gimp,

good luck and tell me how it goes.