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Who has to pay here? Property damage

Hello,

I have a situation where I urgently need help.

On Monday, I visited a friend with my car. This friend lives in an apartment building owned by an organization (GWO - Cooperative for Housing Construction Oberland). This organization recently redesigned all parking spaces so that each tenant must rent one of these parking spaces and only they can park there. It should be noted that there are no warning signs for visitors clearly stating that only residents are allowed to park there, so it is not at all obvious.
I parked in a parking space that belonged to another tenant. When I came back later to leave, I found that the owner of this parking space had raised the metal barrier that is located at each of these parking spaces so that I could no longer exit. I then asked my friend to drive his car, which was parked right next to mine, away so that I could leave the area through his parking space.
In the evening, I received a call from my friend informing me that the barrier that had previously been raised was now damaged and that I was liable. However, that was definitely not the case. The owner of the parking space contacted the GWO, who then had the damaged part removed, will soon install a new one, and the bill will now be paid by the tenant, who in turn claims that I destroyed the barrier and now wants the money from me.
Am I now obligated to pay for the damaged barrier? I will not be able to report the damage to my insurance, as no assessment can be made since the barrier has already been removed. However, I am 100% sure that I did not destroy the barrier.

Andreas Scholz

Dear inquirer,

I recommend that you report the damage claimed by the other party to your insurance in order not to let the reporting deadline pass. This will not cost you anything. Clearly inform your insurance company that you did not cause any damage. Furthermore, the following applies:

If you are to be held liable for damages, it must also be proven that you caused the damage. If there are no witnesses and there is no visible damage to your vehicle indicating a collision with the parking barrier, you will not have to pay damages, as it will not be possible to prove that you caused the damage.

Legally, the person claiming that you caused damage must also be able to prove this in court. This can only be done in your case through witnesses, possibly also through an inspection of your vehicle and any existing damage.

If witnesses cannot be named and your vehicle does not have any "suspicious" damage, you do not need to fear that a court will order you to pay damages. However, if you are still asked by the other party to pay, do not pay, but seek legal representation.

I hope this information helps. If you have any questions, please ask.

Best regards,

Andreas Scholz, Attorney

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Andreas Scholz