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  1. #1
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    Default Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    My question involves real estate located in the State of: Virginia

    My mother owns a property and is about to sell it in Virginia and there was a company who had their equipment up on the top of the hill behind the building on her property, and they stored their equipment on her property since that was the only available land in the area to store it. She took $200 for 4 months of storage, which I found a bit cheap, the guys ended up tearing up her new gravel drive-way, they hit a small storage building she had up there and broke it a bit, they tore down a lot of trees to get to another property through hers, but never replanted any trees as far as I know, they tore the property up behind the building making it muddy and ruining the ground and leaving behind tons of trash and even a huge ton barrel that is impossible to move and we're not even sure why they had it there, they refused to lock up the property when they would leave and were very immature about the whole process and now they're refusing to pay my mom for all the damage they caused, she spent over $800 on that new gravel driveway. She was planning on suing the company for days of work she missed and gas for checking on the property, suing them for tearing down trees and not replacing them, ruining her gravel drive-way, and hitting her building and refusing to pay for it, she was hoping to get around $4-5 grand for all the stress they caused, but a friend of ours ( not an attorney ) said that she could not sue if she sold the property, which she is in the process of doing now, is this true? or can she still take the company to small claims court for devaluing the property and causing all the stress?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    My mother owns a property and is about to sell it in Virginia
    Your question is about "after" selling, yet she hasn't sold it yet. Obviously the best time to sue for damages is while you still own the property and can quantiy the amounts involved. That means getting estimates for the repairs and getting the lawsuit filed ASAP. After the sale it will be much more difficult to prove damages if she doesn't actually incur the costs and can't show that any reduction in price wasn't due to market factors and/or shrewd negotiation by a buyer.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    she spent over $800 on that new gravel driveway.
    OK, that's one cost already quantified. Good start.

    Now let's talk about what damages she might expect to recover.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    She was planning on suing the company for days of work she missed and gas for checking on the property,
    Not likely. She would have to do that anyway.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    suing them for tearing down trees and not replacing them,
    She'll need an estimate from a nursery for the cost of replacing the trees. She'd probably win that but not likely the "value" of mature trees.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    ruining her gravel drive-way,
    That's almost a given since she incurred the cost of repair.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    she was hoping to get around $4-5 grand for all the stress they caused,
    No.

    Stress is not compensible in this kind of lawsuit.

    She would be entitled to the actual cost to repair the damage and that's it. And, for some items - like the shed, she would only be entitled to the depreciated value.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    a friend of ours ( not an attorney ) said that she could not sue if she sold the property, which she is in the process of doing now, is this true?
    Of course not.

    As I noted earlier, it would just be much harder to prove a monetary loss.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    or can she still take the company to small claims court for devaluing the property
    Again, proving devaluation of the property would be much more difficult than quantifying repair costs now.

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    causing all the stress?
    Nope, no money for stress.

    Bottom line, I suggest she figure out the costs and get the lawsuit filed before the property is sold.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    If she sells the property, she no longer owns it and thus has nothing to sue for.

    And no, she doesn't get to add in her days of lost work and gas she spent checking on the property if she decides to go ahead with the lawsuit BEFORE she sells the property.

    Gail

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    The sale of the property does not make the damage go away. If the damage to the property is repaired in preparation for sale, there would be damages in the form of the cost of repair. If the damages are not repaired, it may be possible to document that they lowered the sale price from what would have been obtained from an undamaged or fully repaired property - adjusterjack is completely correct about the relative burden of proving diminished value vs. cost of repair.

    This was a business transaction. The amount she expended to monitor the activities of the company on her land are a business expense, not 'damages' to recover in a lawsuit. She should discuss her profits and expenses with her accountant or tax adviser.

    Even with a "new gravel driveway", if she contracts with the company to operate heavy equipment up and down the driveway, the wear on the driveway from that use would likely be "ordinary wear and tear" within the context of the contract. Similarly, if the contract permitted for access from her land to a neighboring parcel, and it was impossible to access that parcel without removing some trees, that would seem to be anticipated by the terms of the contract and payment received. The details will matter.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    I did not contract anyone, they asked her if they could store their equipment up there on her property without compensation, he finally agreed to pay her $200 and she has in writing that he would fix the gravel driveway and never did. This was not a contract for work to be done on her property, they were doing major repairs in the whole entire neighborhood but had no place to store their equipment while doing repairs and tear downs, so they asked to use her land, this was not a business venture for her and she did not plan on making any money, and like I said, she has in writing that they agreed to fix the drive way, and have not. They said they would be out by the end of December, but they stayed until the middle of March, and they compensated her with $200 dollars, which she was not happy with but took it without telling him he needs to pay more ( not sure why she did that, but she did. )

    She has called him 3 times and e-mailed the company that hired him ( TAP ) to give a message to him, and he's not responded to either one. She is wanting to know if she should call him and let him know that she is going to take him to small claims court for everything he did, or should she just slap the small claims court on him?

    Other than the storage building being hit, he ran over her tripod cook wear and other stuff, so she wants to sue him asap. The property is being sold though and they are closing on it within the next 10 days most likely.

    She has pictures of the land prior to him arriving, while they were there, and after they left, so she has 100% proof of documentation of the problems it caused her and the property in general.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    I did not contract anyone, they asked her if they could store their equipment up there on her property without compensation, he finally agreed to pay her $200 and she has in writing that he would fix the gravel driveway and never did.
    Your mother created a contract. The terms of the contract, agreed upon after negotiation of compensation, are that they get to store equipment, and they agree to fix the gravel, in exchange for the compensation given to her. That's a contract - when one party promises to do something in exchange for a benefit (called a consideration). Mom agreed to make the land available in exchange for money and restoration of the gravel. The company paid and promised to fix the gravel, in exchange for use of the land. A contract.


    this was not a business venture for her
    This was a business contract, as Mr. K has already pointed out. Mom provided a benefit to the company, in exchange for compensation. That's a business deal. Might be small scale, but it's nonetheless a business transaction, which is why the type of suit your mom would bring is a "breech of contract". Whether she'd be able to bring it in small claims court depends on what her total damages amount to, and what the statutory limit is for small claims court in VA (I think it's $5k but don't quote me on that).



    and she did not plan on making any money
    And yet, she negotiated a payment from them - so whether or not she made profit or not, she did get money from them. The payment and the restoration of the gravel were her terms. She got the money, just not the gravel fix. So she can ask the court to find the company in breech of their contract with her, and ask the court to order that the company either restore the gravel per the terms of the contract, or pay damages in the amount needed to fulfill their obligation to do so.


    and like I said, she has in writing that they agreed to fix the drive way, and have not
    Perfect, then the judge shouldn't have much difficulty finding them in breech of the contract.


    They said they would be out by the end of December, but they stayed until the middle of March, and they compensated her with $200 dollars, which she was not happy with but took it without telling him he needs to pay more ( not sure why she did that, but she did. )
    Unfortunately, people often enter into contracts without considering many factors and "what ifs". If mom accepted the additional $200 for the additional time, without adding a new contract or amending the original one, and the contract didn't ever include terms about additional compensation after the initial contracted time period, she's going to have a hard time complaining about this portion of the issue if she accepted the funds. The company will argue that this $200 was accepted as payment in full for the additional storage time, unless there is some other contract or addendum to the contrary.


    She has called him 3 times and e-mailed the company that hired him ( TAP ) to give a message to him, and he's not responded to either one. She is wanting to know if she should call him and let him know that she is going to take him to small claims court for everything he did, or should she just slap the small claims court on him?
    She can always say "hey look, you promised to fix this, and didn't...and I'm giving you until X date to fullfill your promise, or I'll be suing the company for breech of the contract". Best case scenario, a check shows up in the mail for the full amount that would restore the property as promised. Middle case scenario, they pay her some, but not enough to cover the full restoration, and she sues for the balance. Worst case scenario, they don't respond, and she brings the case to court for the full amount.


    Other than the storage building being hit, he ran over her tripod cook wear and other stuff, so she wants to sue him asap. The property is being sold though and they are closing on it within the next 10 days most likely. She has pictures of the land prior to him arriving, while they were there, and after they left, so she has 100% proof of documentation of the problems it caused her and the property in general.
    Perfect! That's EXACTLY what she'll need to show the condition of the premises pre and post company activity.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Can You Sue Somebody for Damaging Your Property After You Sell It

    Quote Quoting AJJ
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    I did not contract anyone, they asked her if they could store their equipment up there on her property without compensation, he finally agreed to pay her $200 and she has in writing that he would fix the gravel driveway and never did.
    She agreed to store his equipment on her land in exchange for $200. That's a contract, even if it was originally a gratuitous act on her part.
    Quote Quoting AJJ
    She has pictures of the land prior to him arriving, while they were there, and after they left, so she has 100% proof of documentation of the problems it caused her and the property in general.
    Again, if she's selling the property in its present condition, proving diminution of value could be considerably more difficult (and expensive) than attempting to recover the cost of repair; but from what you've told us it's too late to be thinking about repairs. Sometimes the value of the property will be minimally affected by something that could cost a considerable amount to repair. Does mom have an appraiser who can testify about diminished value?

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