http://www.videojug.com/interview/water-damage-and-neighbors
在加州這是一般的規範處理這一類的問題有一定的規範,現在節錄如下,
資料來源:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29724.html
Water Damage Caused by Carelessness
If your neighbor acts unreasonably or carelessly with water on his own property in a way that causes water damage to your property, you can sue for compensation for your losses and also ask the court to order the neighbor to stop the action.
Common culprits of this type of water damage include garden hoses or sprinklers left running too long and water pipes that get clogged, get old, leak, crack, or freeze. Owners are responsible for their pipes and for damage they may cause, even if the pipe just wears out or freezes in cold weather. Tree roots, including roots from neighboring property, can also damage pipes. Just as property owners are responsible for damage caused by their broken pipes, tree owners may be responsible for damage caused to another's property by their tree's branches or roots. (For more information, see Neighbor Disputes Over Trees.)
What the Neighbor at Fault Must Pay For
If a neighbor is legally responsible for water damage you suffer, you may be entitled to any or all of the following:
compensation for cost of repairs and replacements
compensation for expenses such as having to stay at a motel
reimbursement for medical expenses
compensation for mental distress, if you have suffered an underlying physical injury
punitive damages, if a neighbor acted maliciously.
Judges also frequently order problems to be fixed if fixing them would be easy and inexpensive. Replacing a downspout, clearing away debris, or cleaning out a drain creates very little burden on a property owner. Judges are less likely to order someone to remove a retaining wall, relandscape property, or redo a culvert.
基本上對方自認沒有 NEGLENCE 並不代表不需要負責, 除非是天然不可抗拒的情況,如影片中所提到的"是上帝所造成的",那麼對方有可能無需負責,唯一的不同是如果對方沒有人為上的疏失,您不太可能取得所謂的"懲罰性的賠償",一般的情況您隻有就實際的損失來索賠.
當然您可以在小額求償提出訴訟,但是問題在於您能夠所求的數額就受到限製,同時您也不能就未來可能的問題要求對方負責,(水患造成日後牆壁發黴的問題)所以老貓個人會建議您交給律師處理,在一般民事法庭提出訴訟,所以賠償必須包括現有的損失的賠償與未來數年之後如果有後續的問題時,責任歸屬的問題.
至於小額求償的程序與細節請參考這個資料
http://www.courtin