Wall outlet fried old computer, brand new computer, then stereo system. Is the apartment complex liable?

Question

My brother just moved into this apartment complex in calgary. He plugged in his old computer into a wall socket and it immediately fried his computer, sending sparks out of the wall socket. He went that day and bought a brand new computer, and plugged it into the same wall socket. It blew the brand new computer up as well (luckily he had a warranty). Then the apartment manager came over and he then plugged in his stereo system to show the manager what would happen. It promtly blew the system as well. The apartment manager then plugged her curling iron into the wall and that blew as well. The landlord says he wont reimburse for the damages. I suggested small claims court action to my brother, but can the landlord evict him because he is sueing?

Answer 1

Whoa there. WHO plugged the second, third etc. items into a socket they knew was bad? A judge will throw that one out IMMEDIATELY. He might get compensation for the old computer... he knew the socket was bad after that, though, and had no business plugging ANYTHING into it that was of value.

Answer 2

An eviction is a legal proceeding that requires a court order. If the landlord tries to evict on the grounds that your brother is suing him, that will be seen as a retaliatory measure and probably will not get the court order, or at the very least, open himself up to more litigation.

Before your brother goes to small claims court, he should get an electrician to inspect the wiring to determine if faulty wiring is the cause. If it is, then your brother has a good case, at least for the first computer and maybe the second one (although if he had a warranty that replaced it he didn't really suffer any loss there). Plugging in the stereo to show the landlord what happens was his own fault.

If it is faulty wiring, the landlord should also be reported for building code violations (the electrician may do that), and your brother may want to move anyway to get away from the threat of an electrical fire starting while he sleeps.

Answer 3

You would have to prove negligence on behalf of the landlord. Just because it is his apartment, doesn't mean he even touched the outlet.

While ultimately he is responsible for what happens there, he may not have know there was a problem till your brother informed him. A previous tenant could have tampared with the outlet. I have had that happen before.

Your brother should have gotten renters insurance, and he would of been covered.

Landlord can evict for any reason that violates the contract, or if it is month to month tenancy, he can ask you to vacate the premises at the end of the pay period.

Good Luck

Answer 4

Ordenadores para trabajar o para jugar, simples o muy avanzados, siempre a los mejores precios en los sitios web, mi viejo ordenador, también comprado en los sitios web me gustaba mucho pero necesitaba algo más eficiente y más silencioso, el ordenador que compre cumple todas mis expectativas, además de ser muy rápido, con una buena capacidad de almacenaje, es increíblemente silencioso, lo he probado por la noche, en un silencio total y ni no parecía que estaba funcionando, una excelente compra.