I own the street front apartment (# 1) of a 4-unit HOA in Santa Monica, CA. Recently my (Apt # 2) neighbor's toilet backed up and the plumber did not clear the sewage line back from Apt # 2 to the alley, instead the plumber erroneously ran the snake toward the street and dislodged a cap to my new sink in a new kitchen cabinet. (My apartment is being renovated.).
Since I live out of town, the overflow sewage into my new kitchen sink and new kitchen cabinet was not discovered until several days later, when my Apt # 2 neighbor's sewage backed up again. Then the sewage overflow into my kitchen was discovered and I was notified.
I called a sewage mitigation company and requested clean-up and decontamination, which was done the next day.
Is the HOA responsible for this bill? I haven't read the bylaws, but previous plumbing work (e.g., recirculating copper for heater hot water) and rain damage repairs have been paid by the HOA.