Hi All,
In August, my partner had some friends around August this year for her birthday to have a couple of drinks. During the night her friend spilled a full glass of sparkling wine down the front of my 60 inch LED TV. I contacted an authorised repairer the next morning and was told it is damaged beyond repair. I do not have accidental breakage on my home and contents so a replacement is at my own cost.
Is my partner's friend liable for the replacement of the TV under Property Law? She has not been very forthcoming to replace it.
Any help is much appreciated.
Such a 'had some friends around' situation is likely to find spilled drinks, item-damage, people stumbling and the like. Those arising is foreseeable. Your responsibility in having people partying is to be aware and take due diligence. You didn't.
A 'full glass of wine' sounds as though the party was not well supervised or 'for a few drinks' is a minimisation of the reality. As for the repairs....I am not sure how that decision was made but it sounds 'suss' ...maybe someone tried to clean the screen with a damaging liquid? however a telephone diagnosis sounds bizarre or opportunistic or just plain wrong.. My son picks up wide screen and smaller tv's from throw outs and fixes them...some have been rained upon...they still end up working.
Be all that as it may I don't think you would succeed in a legal claim, up to you of course. It would be reasonable to ask but not bully the person who spilled the wine to contribute if you can give real evidence of this total damage. That repairs today can cost more than the electronic item is not your friends friend's fault. Nor is it her fault that competent technicians have largely disappeared since transistors and tubes were superseded by IC's.
It may not even be her fault she spilled the wine. She has no obligation to you for an accident of that kind which occurred when in any environment, less so when you are providing alcoholic drinks to people and less again when doing so at a party. It might be different were she to have deliberately poured 'a full glass of wine' over your TV, though I still doubt the 'unrepairable' story. It sounds opportunistic and technically questionable, I say that as an electrical engineer with electronics communications experience.
You had no insurance so would have been wise to protect the tv and any other valuables ...which may not have been new though you wanted her to buy a new one. When you introduce foreseeable risk you will be the bearer of any burden and there's a reasonableness there. I am not being unkind in saying, you brought this on yourself and it might be a cheaper 'heads up' than it could have been. Perhaps the lines of this (rather infantile) song should give good advice to your 'partner':
You can bring Pearl,
She's a darn nice girl,
But don't bring Lulu.
Put it down to experience Tommy, one of the many 'taxes on life'.
