I hired a plumber to snake out a washer drain, it drained slowly at times but was draining. This plumber hired another plumbing company w/out my consent to do the job. The tech for the other company caused a flood inside both units -upper & lower. I have over $24,000. in damages - $13,000.00 for physical losses. I had to pay for all of it. No contract with either company left me to pay for atty fees - can't recover w/out a contract stating you are in agreement to recover atty fees. There was no contract provided by either plumber.

Small claims is only $10,000. I can get up to this amt per each defendant.

However, I did not include loss of rent. I was in the process of repairing another rental when this occurred. As a consequence I had to use $ from that project to pay for the flood damages. I to this day have not been able to complete this project. The house sits with walls torn out, new kitchen cabinets in the garage still in boxes. Should I go after them in Superior court? Can I include the loss of income from the other rental in my case?

Go to the State Contractor's License Board Website

WWW.CSLB.CA.GOV

Run both company's. See if they are licensed, bonded and in good standing.

A Plumber, License Trade C36, has to maintain a License Bond for

$15,000. If you can prove fault, you can file a claim with their:

a) License Bond

b) Contractors Insurance

I am a licensed Plumbing Contractor in California, and I have 5 other trade licenses. This is the best way to collect.

However, if you hired someone to snake out a drain and your tenants loaded up the washing machine and walked away, and then it overflowed and flooded the upstairs and downstairs apartments -- then they did a lousy job. They should refund the snaking fee.

But if you contracted for them to "clear the line" and test to make sure this is flow -- that's a different story.

Also you must carry apartment insurance. Maybe you have flood coverage.

I did a job for a new client. She purchased a home and the main sewer had a major root problem. She hired 3 plumbers to snake the line and everyone said, "You're going to have to spend $15,000 to replace a section of the pipe".

I came along by recommendation and told the home owner that I have 9 snaking machines with over 50 different cutters. If the pipe is in good shape and it's only roots, I can remove them and scope the pipe with one of my sewer inspection camera's. So while I was clearing the line of root and reaming the 4" to 6" metal to clay pipes, the home owner had to leave. I told her that after I cleared the main sewer, some of the back up crud may have clogged a branch line, like a sink, tub or shower -- they also needed to be checked out. The homeowner said, "just clear the main line and I'll worry about the sinks and shower's later". I had her put in writing and on the check that I wasn't responsible for anything but the main sewer line.

I cleared the line and made a video of running the garden hose at full blast for 15 minutes with no back ups. The owners father came by hours later and tried to wash his hands and the sink wouldn't drain . Instead of calling his daughter he paid a plumbing company $15,000 to replace 10 feet of pipe.

The daughter stopped payment of my check and reported me to my bonding company. I showed the video to my bonding company of her clogged main and after when I had cleared it, reaming it in steps. Then I sued the daughter and her father for tying to cause me issues and stop payment.

When the other plumber saw the old clay pipes had no roots,he broke up the pipes and threw them in his truck. He couldn't prove any of the pipes were clogged at that time.

After getting a judgement I filed a lien on the house, and then tried to do a forced sale, getting even with a father daughter that refuse to communicate.

By the way, the reason why the sink wouldn't drain is there was hair stuck in the pop-up, the line was clear. Remember the owner left and locked the house and I couldn't go inside to test the branch lines (sinks, showers and tubs).

Also because on the check it said that I was only responsible for the main lien and not sinks, shower and tub lines -- the judge was angry with them.

SO my story is just a way to say that anyone could be at fault....Contractor, Owner or Tenant.

You have no contract? no bid or estimate? no work order?

You have to talk to a lawyer to determine if you have a case, or not.

Do you not have insurance? If so, report it to them, they will take it from there.

Do the plumbers not have insurance? If so they should be covering this. IF they are fly-by-night do you have ANYTHING in writing from them? A work order or invoice? If not how do you prove there were even there? Phone records, eye witnesses, confession, etc.

It is not normal to have a big written contract with a plumber to snake a drain. I don't know why you can't sue for atty fees, I sure would. But maybe that's a CA thing.

Are the plumbers judgement proof? Hiding behind a corporation, etc. How will you recover any judgement?

See a lawyer ASAP. You did have a contract, a verbal contract. Not nearly as good as a written contract but a contract nonetheless.

Document carefully everything that's transpired to date beginning with the day you talked to the plumber about the job. List all your damages, including lost rent, that you can think of. Take photos, time stamped. Then review all your alleged damages with the attorney.

You should have made a claim to your insurer. In addition, both plumbers likely have insurance. Find out who their insurers are. Did you make a demand to either plumber for money to cover your losses? If not, that may be one of the first things the lawyer does, send each of them a demand letter, which they will then give to their insurer. The demand letter can be for an amount that includes all your damages, including attorney's fees.

Your property is now sitting vacant because of this damage? The longer it sits vacant, the less credible your claim becomes. Most landlords would want to get this resolved asap so they can get the property rented again and earning income. I'm sure you do also.

Most lawyers will give you a free consultation. The better prepared you are for the meeting, the more informed the lawyer will be, the more likely he/she will be to take your case, and the greater the chances are that you'll get an accurate value/assessment of your claim. Good luck.

Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate the interest.

I have a good attorney, costly. I was offered a settlement of $10,000. but the plumber wanted me to sign off liability. The other plumber who subbed the work is non-existent. He avoided the certified mail from the clerk of the court, so most likely we have to postpone this hearing. He is slippery, so is the other plumber (who I did not hire) - their insurance company is devious. WARNING: NEVER TALK TO AN INSURANCE AGENT VIA PHONE. ALWAYS DO THINGS IN WRITING, EMAILS ARE BEST - TIME STAMPED. ALSO, ALWAYS COPY YOURSELF, MAKE SURE TO DO A "RETURN RECEIPT" ON YOUR EMAIL TOO - so you know they received the email.

My recommendation to anyone is to get everything in writing. I never thought I needed a contract for a simply plumbing job.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE COVERED FOR FLOOD DAMAGES! I thought this had to do with natural disasters. GET protection for your SERVICE LINE which goes to the MAIN LINE too.

The MAIN line is usually owned by the city.

ALWAYS SERVE THE DEFENDANT VIA PROCESS SERVER.

I wished that I hired my attorney first, then went to court. BBB is useless - the Bay Area location. THEY ARE A PAID ORGANIZATION BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ARE LISTED ON THEIR WEBSITE.

Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate the interest.

I have a good attorney, costly. I was offered a settlement of $10,000. but the plumber wanted me to sign off liability. The other plumber who subbed the work is non-existent. He avoided the certified mail from the clerk of the court, so most likely we have to postpone this hearing. He is slippery, so is the other plumber (who I did not hire) - their insurance company is devious. WARNING: NEVER TALK TO AN INSURANCE AGENT VIA PHONE. ALWAYS DO THINGS IN WRITING, EMAILS ARE BEST - TIME STAMPED. ALSO, ALWAYS COPY YOURSELF, MAKE SURE TO DO A "RETURN RECEIPT" ON YOUR EMAIL TOO - so you know they received the email.

My recommendation to anyone is to get everything in writing. I never thought I needed a contract for a simply plumbing job.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE COVERED FOR FLOOD DAMAGES! I thought this had to do with natural disasters. GET protection for your SERVICE LINE which goes to the MAIN LINE too.

The MAIN line is usually owned by the city.

ALWAYS SERVE THE DEFENDANT VIA PROCESS SERVER.

I wished that I hired my attorney first, then went to court. BBB is useless - the Bay Area location. THEY ARE A PAID ORGANIZATION BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ARE LISTED ON THEIR WEBSITE.