Leak Damage: Can sue for damages covering only damaged floor or floor in the entire property?
<p>Apartment owner B, claims a leak from apartment owner A above, supposedly damaged a very small portion of B's hallway floor. Owner A offered to replace the hallway floor.</p>
<p>Instead owner B insists that owner A must replace entire flooring in the entire apartment since B claims the new portion of the floor in the hallway, will not match 100% cosmetically with the rest of the undamaged apartment floor.</p>
<p>Can owner B sue for damages to replace all of the flooring in the entire apartment even though only a very small isolated portion was damaged? And if so, what are the chances of B winning?</p>
<p>Jurisdiction: US, Florida</p>

<p>Both outcomes are possible. A's insurance company would resist full replacement, so B would probably have to sue and prove that full replacement was necessary. Since the basic idea behind compensation is making the person whole after having been harmed, and what is the harm in a more limited repair job? The jury would contemplate all of the details regarding B's apartment. Then it matters just how crisp the floor was originally, and how aesthetically offensive a mere 99% match would be. It would not hinge solely on B's self-serving statement that he would not accept less than 100% match. But the award would not be limited to &quot;the cheapest possible repair&quot;.</p>

liability property florida damages