HOA common water pipe damaged my unit

[Dan Trinh]

Hi All,

About two months ago my tenant noticed a leak and damaged tile in the bathroom. We brought in a repair man plus the HOA brought in their guy, and finally found out that a common water line was leaking several units up. This had probably been going on for years. It ended up costing 15,000 to rip out the wall and tiles and replace due to severe water damage (plus the fixtures were old and we ended up replacing the vanity sink).

I spoke with my insurance company and they denied coverage due to it been a slow leak rather then sudden damage. Its been over a month now since I sent in the appropriate paperwork to the HOA and they've been giving me the run around.

Is there any recourse in this? Since this is a common waterline that caused all this damage, would the HOA master insurance have liability? Would it make sense to bring in a lawyer? This unit is in Hawaii.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dan