‘I just served them with an $8,800 Small Claims lawsuit’: HOA tries to blame main sewer line root invasion on an ‘improper cleanout’ to avoid reimbursing the $1200 plumbing bill they owe

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Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Aug 17, 2026 9:45 AM EDT

HOA and their shady tactics

There is a pretty universal truth behind all this: goodwill and reasonableness often get you nowhere with institutions like the HOA. Apparently, a specific, cited, enforceable threat is the only thing that does.

When you read the story, you will notice this: every time she contacted the HOA with proof, respectful demands, and conclusions she reached with the help of professionals she paid with her own money, she was met with a bit of the old 'guilt-shifting'.

What strikes me most is that institutions use this tactic, thinking it will get them somewhere and make the person fund things they shouldn't. You have to be really confused to think that a root invasion coming from a common area is somehow your responsibility and not theirs.

Either way, when the neighbour threatened with [rightful] legal action, they suddenly started to 'cooperate'.

This is one of those stories where I need to know what happened next, and I'm definitely going to be checking Reddit for updates. Honestly, if the person manages to get all that money in return, it would be something like Divine justice.

This is a case of a volunteer board that doesn't fully understand the infrastructure they're responsible for, and even if that's very humane, it doesn't justify the fact that when they had proof they were wrong, they consciously chose to hide it rather than do the right thing. So legal action was the only way out, really, and they had it coming.

Let's face it, it would've been much cheaper for the institution to simply do what they had to do; now, they will have to pay triple the money. Luckily, organisations like Small Claims Court exist, so individuals who normally have no power against these institutions can take legal action when injustice occurs.

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  • plumber working
    via Timur Shakerzianov

    The plumber coming to the house for the first time

    Actor performance of story events

  • HOA wouldn't reimburse a $1,200 plumbing bill, so I just served them an $8,800 lawsuit

    So my HOA is trying to blame a main sewer line root invasion on an "improper cleanout," and I just served them with an $8,800 Small Claims lawsuit.
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • Back in February, raw sewage backed up into my place. I called an emergency plumber who cleared the line and ran a camera, finding heavy root intrusion originating out in the common area walkway. I paid about $600 out of
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • pocket for the emergency clearing and sent the receipt to management asking for reimbursement and for the HOA to clear the roots. Management told me that pipes on my property line were my responsibility, but said
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • they would inspect the main line. Fast forward to May, and sewage backs up a second time. This time I got three separate licensed plumbers to scope the line. All three
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • confirmed structural root damage in the main line right near the walkway cleanout, with repair estimates coming in around $5,000 to $7,000. I sent all the reports and footage to management asking for urgent repairs.
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • Instead of authorizing the repair, management sent out their own plumbing vendor in early June to hydro-jet the main line and run another camera inspection. But then they completely hid their own vendor's video files and
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • report from me. I spent a month demanding copies of their vendor's inspection footage, but they just stonewalled me while the Board sat on it. In July, the Board finally sent a formal letter
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • claiming the issue was caused by an "improperly installed sewer cleanout assembly" that was my responsibility, and said their vendor's hydro- jetting was just done as a courtesy. Because apparently an improper
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • cleanout magically plants full-grown roots inside a main pipe. Under my state's HOA law, they're required to maintain common area infrastructure and turn over association records
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • upon formal demand. I hit back immediately, demanding Internal Dispute Resolution and issuing another demand for their vendor's inspection records. Only after I cited statutory non- compliance penalties did
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • management finally hand over their vendor's hydro- jetting report and the camera inspection video files. Of course, their own vendor found the same problem: root intrusion originating at the exterior clean out.
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • We held the IDR meeting on site. The Board president admitted they didn't even know the exterior cleanout existed, as mine and my neighbors. units are the only ones in the community that have them. They said they
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • a sewer line with roots in it
    via Nadiia Ganzhyi

    The invaded sewer line

    Representative only

  • needed 10 days to pull original city plumbing plans to find out where the cleanouts came from before they could resolve the issue, but an hour after the meeting ended when I emailed saying I looked forward to hearing back in
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • 10 days, management replied to me saying they weren't legally required to give me a written resolution deadline, and basically opted to kick the can down the road further. I sent a formal Notice of
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • Intent to Sue with a 7-day deadline. They replied saying management would no longer communicate with me due to pending legal action. So I went straight ahead and filed. My claim is for
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • over $8,800, which includes out-of-pocket emergency clearings and diagnostics, the main line repair estimate (or a conditional judgement to force them to take on the repair), and a $500 statutory penalty for
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • unlawfully withholding their vendor's records, and court fees. All I was originally asking for $1200 reimbursement for the emergency clearings, and for them to commit to handling the repairs. Every plumber said the repair
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • would require them to trench 5 to 6 feet down in the common area, which I don't even have any legal authority to authorize even if I wanted to. I served the papers and offered one last option to
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • settle, but they let the deadline pass. Trial is set for the end of September. I have a thick evidence binder ready for the judge with four plumber reports, including their own vendor, email logs, and photos of common area bushes
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • planted directly over the common area sewer cleanout. Wish me luck!
    via TheUgliestCasanova
  • brown wooden tool on white surface
    via Tingey Injury Law Firm

    The sentence about to come

    Still frame for contextual reference only

  • Daisy_232 Good luck. Sewer backups are disgusting, hopefully they're held accountable.
    via Daisy_232
  • BudBunyan I can tell a lot about your character based off the amount you're suing for. I'm sure every state has different caps and what not, but it seems like you're being very generous considering all the bs they've put you through.
    via BudBunyan

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