My friend John is in big trouble. He used a screw driver…

You must keep in mind that the reason lawyers have employment at all is because people and other lawyers disagree with each other. So, all I can offer is my take on your facts alone. That someone else better informed of the facts may disagree with my analysis can be expected.

I would not suggest you take a Power of Attorney from your friend. That places you at high risk for taking on a position of trust. You cannot take upon yourself a position of trust and then in some other document limit your liability to the person who trusts you especially if there is a problem with language. Going through all that would mean that he has to have a translator and his own lawyer for independent legal advice. While good Samaritans have some protection for inadvertent mistakes, you cannot take upon his cause personally as the main player and escape liability.

The quick and unfortunate answer is that he needs to talk to a lawyer on his own and if necessary, with an interpreter. You should not introduce yourself as any type of expert in what is happening to him.

I have already stated that insurance companies have a duty to make the insured person whole by repairing insured damage. You probably have insurance on your own home which you pay for.

So, if someone cases a fire to your home, you would not expect to have to discuss with the person who caused the fire whether that person could find a cheaper contractor. Nor would you care. You just want your insurance company to repair at whatever cost.

Again, subject to some unusual bill from a contractor that is out of the realm of reasonable, the insurance company can then go after who set fire to your house to seek compensation for the repairs they performed to make your house to the same standard as it was before the fire.

Having said that, and without the ability to read the insurance policy or bylaws, my opinion is this is water damage and not a flood.

I have debated this question with my own insurance company. My belief is that water damage comes from a broken pipe or a faulty water heater. A flood still means water but is caused by a rising river or some other outside factor. Unlikely he could "cause" a flood but could cause water damage by trying to fix a piece of plumbing. Even then, whether he legally "caused" it by attempting a home repair is a determination yet to even be made by the investigation much less by a court. If he was negligent in what he did, perhaps he caused it. If he encountered a problem that had to be fixed and he did the best he could, perhaps not. Perhaps at the end of the day the condo owners caused it. This is all fact based.

John should wait to see what happens and then take all policies and bylaws to a lawyer. On your facts, I would expect his down side is a bill for $5K but they can try anything.

As you are my customer, I must advise you not to take the matter on personally in any formal fashion. Help him as you can but by taking control in any way, you are opening yourself to liability because you are a trusted person and because you will be perceived as having some expertise in this area because of what you do for a living.

So, John should wait to see and David should support, ask questions and even challenge on John's behalf but never be in control. Once John knows what he is up against, he needs his own legal advice and for the benefit of both of you, David should not be present when John gets that advice.

This is complex and much more information is needed. You will have more information soon enough. Then, perhaps you too need to consult a lawyer without John before you choose to take on personal resposabilities.

Please accept my answer for my time.

Tom