Q&A: Coffee That Splashed
Coffee That Splashed
Question
I put down some coffee in a corner for a bit.
A wind came and blew it over, and some of it splashed onto a neighbor's wall.
He would either need to clean it or paint that section.
This is some kind of open stairwell, not significant, which is exposed anyway to leaves, dust, rain, full sun, dirt and dampness, and is completely neglected.
A. I'm not the one who makes the wind blow or the rain fall.
God brought the wind back, so let God pay for the damage.
Am I connected to this story at all?
B. If in any case I do also bear responsibility / blame that obligates payment, how much?
According to the cost of a Scotch-Brite with a little effort?
According to a quarter-liter of Tambour paint?
C. In any case it's a negligible and dirty place, so what difference do a few more little stains make?
Answer
A. You could also throw his belongings out the window and blame the force of gravity that the Holy One, blessed be He, created. Let them sue Him. That's nonsense, of course.
B. If this was an ordinary wind, then it's your fault and you are obligated to compensate. If it was an unusual wind, then not (see Babylonian Talmud, Bava Kamma 6a: "his stone, his knife, his load, which he placed on top of his roof, and they fell in a common wind and caused damage").
You can simply clean it, and that's that. If you want to pay, then pay what it costs to clean. A reasonable assessment is how much it would cost to hire someone to clean it. But this is unnecessary hair-splitting. Clean it yourself.
If the place is dirty anyway, then it seems this really isn't damage. If a reasonable person wouldn't clean it, it seems to me that you are exempt.
Discussion on Answer
Based on what you describe, it seems there is no damage. Whether damage is assessed relative to the whole house is not a simple question, and it came up here not long ago. But it seems that here it isn't relevant, because there is no damage (based on your description).
And what actually is the law?
Is damage assessed relative to the whole house?
I wrote briefly that the matter is not simple. Apparently, according to the strict law, damage is assessed relative to the house (really, relative to sixty houses), and then the result is 0, which is absurd. But I added that in practice, in any case, the law of the land determines this, not Jewish law. If you want to see it according to Jewish law, see a survey here: https://www.machonso.org/hamaayan/?gilayon=57&id=1691
And here (by my former student): https://www.daat.ac.il/mishpat-ivri/skirot/202-2.htm
A. It's a huge 3-story villa with a large garden on all four sides = worth several million.
I assume that in a sale, a few coffee drips on the wall of a stairwell (emergency stairwell?) at the end of one of the floors, which is filthy anyway and whose wall is not polished clean, with a bit more dirt added, is negligible compared to the overall neglect and does not affect the price of the house and property.
If so, then apparently there is no damage?
Can it be measured that way?
B.
The entire property is in the middle of a serious renovation: moving walls, plumbing, flooring, building bathrooms, etc., etc.
Of course, during renovations and construction there is no economic significance to telling the painter to also paint some particular 4 cubits, especially since if he decides to look at those stairs they will presumably scrape the paint, deal with the dampness, mold, and plaster, repair it, and paint everything, so these little drips have no economic significance.
If so, then apparently there is no damage?
Can it be measured that way?