COMMON WALLS, COMMON PROBLEMS, P.2

The board approached the representative of the building's owners. He agreed to the proposal — but insisted that the co-op accept liability even after the job was complete. He also insisted that the commercial building and all of its owners be named as additional insureds.

Never underestimate the value of competent and creative professionals. The board, unwilling to carry such a burden of liability, turned to its attorney, James Samson of Samson Fink & Dubow. He advised them that the liability demand was ridiculous and that due to an arcane turn of law the neighbor might even be responsible for the chimney repair.

Communication, as the board knew from its previous experience, was the key. "There was a little back and forth," says Benjamin whose board now had a bargaining chip, "and they agreed to pay for half of the project — and drop their liability request."

The board had lived and learned. "We were very happy," says Benjamin. "It wasn't going to cost us as much, we got the liability removed and the timing was good. It was not a terribly expensive job — about $7,500 — so we didn't want to get involved in a lawsuit." (Click on image to enlarge.)

The board also had the luxury of time. "We weren't in a terrible rush to get the work done – unlike the school, which just plowed ahead when we said no to giving them access to our building," she says. "We weren't on a timeline, so we had some wiggle room. We could have gone back to the engineers and told them to come up with something else. I think that helped. And part of it was that we had a chip to play."

Adapted from Habitat December 2009. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>