Neighbor demanding full reimbursement for damaged tools from an eBike fire. Am I right to only offer depreciated value? [HI]
Hi all — I’m in Hawaiʻi and looking for practical/legal perspective on a neighbor property-damage issue.
An accidental e-bike fire from my property damaged my neighbor’s outdoor shed/tools/equipment. I’m not denying that the fire caused damage, and I already paid $500 toward resolving it. I was not tinkering with the battery, and if I was, I would have been able to contain the fire faster. But it literally exploded on its own, not being charged or anything.
After the fire, I helped gather price quotes for replacement items. The total replacement cost came to about 2K for their exact items. In a later email, I said I could pay $500 toward the total and would like to set up a payment plan for the remaining balance. In that same email, I also asked whether they would consider a reduction reflecting depreciation rather than full replacement cost, since the damaged items were used. Their direct reply was only, “Sounds good.”
When I went over in person to make the first $500 payment, I brought up the depreciation/reduction issue again, but they declined. They are now saying I had a written agreement to pay the full replacement amount and want the remaining full balance. They also mentioned that they could have charged labor and interest but are not doing so. Which is ridiculous because I offered to help them set up as I was already apologetic about the whole thing.
And the amount is small enough to avoid insurance, and also as a just a tenant, I do not have insurance and also don’t want to bother the landlord.
My questions:
For accidental damage to used tools/sheds, is the typical measure full replacement cost or actual cash value/depreciated value?
I understand that I would be pissed, too, if they damaged my bike and I had to get a new one, but I’m not going to make them pay full brand new price.