Q&H's Callicoat Prevails in Condominium Flood Litigation
Shareholder Jason Callicoat recently won summary judgment in a negligence lawsuit filed against two owners of a condominium unit. Plaintiffs owned neighboring condominium units that were allegedly flooded on two occasions by a defective shower located in the unit owned by the Defendants.
Plaintiffs sought to recover damages from the Defendants based on a provision in the condominium Rules and Regulations, which stated that the owners of a unit where the cause of the damage originates must pay for any damage done to other units. Defendants relied on a conflicting provision of the condominium Declarations, which stated that unit owners waive all claims against each other for damages, to the extent those damages are covered by insurance.
Querrey & Harrow moved for summary judgment, arguing that recent Illinois case law has made clear that where there is a conflict between condominium Declarations and other condominium instruments, the Declarations control. The court agreed with Querrey & Harrow’s argument, and granted summary judgment for the Defendant condominium unit owners based on this case law and the fact that all of the damages at issue had been paid for by insurance.