Laptop damage

[Auntie1979]

About a month ago, my 18 yr old nephew was visiting his 20 yr old friend who lives with his parents.The 20 year old's girlfriend (& my nephew's best friend) was also there in his room. The 20 yr old's laptop was laying face down on the floor in the bedroom where they were. My nephew threw a stuffed animal in fun at the girlfriend who tapped it away. The stuffed animal then hit a cup of coffee which spilled on the laptop. The 3 have gone from 1.my nephew paying to replace it (about $1100.)2.the 3 equally paying for it and back to 3.my newphew pay for it all. My nephew is in highschool and only gets an allowance. He has given $20. to the 20 yr old.This is straining the friendship,the girlfriend says my nephew should pay,too, and the 20 yr old has said he should pay or he may have to sue (not sure if he is kidding but...). My nephew wants to do the right thing but we are not sure what that is. Please advise how this should be handled and if payment is due, how to figure how much. Thank you.

 

[Duranie]

The owner of the laptop is only entitled to what it was worth at the time, not replacement value. The issue here is the laptop really should not have been on the floor. This guy is going to have to prove some sort of negligence to prevail in court. I fail to see how the nephew is 100% at fault, he might be 50% at fault or might be less because the laptop should not have been on the floor in the first place. and this guy is not entitled to replacement value, just the value at the time. The nephew can wait to get sued and let a judge decide how much he could pay and then he'll have a judgement against him, or he can make an offer in writing. He will obviosuly need to get some sort of a job though since he has no income. I would be searching the internet at how much the laptop was currently worth (they depreciate FAST. I am in the IT industry, I know) and maybe give him 33%-50% of that value. The owner of the laptop does hold some responsibility here and so does the girlfriend. There is also accidental damage that can be purchased to cover this sort of stuff. I would not let this guy bully him into giving him any more. Make the offer in writing and if he declines it, then he can go to court in which case a judge might see your nephew made an attempt to resolve the issue, and this other guy may get awarded nothing. It is even unclear whether or not your nephew owes this man anything.

Good luck

 

[FlaRiptide]

No one intentionally harmed the laptop, and I seriously doubt tossing a stuffed animal in a bedroom could be considered "negligent". If anyone was to be "more" responsible for the damage, it would be the owner himself. He allowed the item to be left out in the open in an area where it potentially (and did) get damaged. Who left the cup of coffee near it? If the nephew and girlfriend made a token contribution towards the laptop's replacement, the owner should be happy with it. Such a shame to ruin a friendship over such an incident! With a little creative thinking, perhaps the nephew and girlfriend can make things right.