Here's the situation: **The unit below me reported ongoing water damage on their ceiling/wall.** The building paid a plumber to do an investigation. After many hours, they were able to determine there was water coming from my toilet. I brought in my own plumber and he figured out there was a leak inside the wall where the toilet connects to the pipe (its a wall mount toilet and the gasket wasn't forming a tight seal with the pipe). This toilet pre-dates my ownership, if that matters. I had him fix it and paid him. Obviously the apartment below has repair costs. I immediately engaged a claim with my homeowner policy provider (Travellers), sent them the plumbers reports (both mine and the building), the by-laws of the building, and put my insurance in touch with the owners of the below unit. Fast forward, after some research, **my claim person says 'I'm not liable because there was no way for me to know about the leak, so the owners of the below unit should file with their insurance'** It is true there was no visible leak or damage in my apartment. Now the unit below me sent me an estimate from their contractor and says 'As you’ll see, they have denied the claim, stating there was “no evidence of neglect” on your part. **Given the damages I sustained, I need to understand how you intend to address this situation and take responsibility for the repairs.**' It's not clear if they've filed with their insurance. The husband and wife don't always seem to be on the same page. They are claiming repairs cost $30,000! I don't know how much of this is really related to the damage, as they are also in the midst of a major reno and might be using this to pay for some of that on the sly. I don't have a relationship with them. To clarify the leak was a long slow drip, which only occurred when the toilet flushed, which is why it took so long for the building plumbers to track down. Regardless, it seems weird to me that the insurance judges I'm not liable, just because I couldn't know about the problem. Especially since the policy seems to explicitly cover damage from water seepage where the insured is unaware because its hidden in a wall (in the DOES NOT COVER section for liability it says: CONTINUOUS OR REPEATED SEEPAGE OR LEAKAGE OF WATER OR STEAM OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, WEEKS, MONTHS, OR YEARS, FROM WITHIN A PLUMBING, DRAINAGE, HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING,SYSTEM OR AUTOMATIC FIRE PROTECTIVE SPRINKLER SYSTEM OR FROM WITHIN A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE **UNLESS SUCH SEEPAGE OR LEAKAGE OF WATER OR STEAM AND THE RESULTING DAMAGE ARE UNKNOWN TO ALL insureds AND ARE HIDDEN WITHIN THE WALLS OR CEILINGS OR BENEATH THE FLOORS OR ABOVE THE CEILINGS OF A STRUCTURE**). **Right now I'm waiting for response from my insurer and also the apartment below** (to see if they have filed with their insurer and if that insurer is in contact with mine). Up until now my interactions on this issue with the apartment below have been pretty even tempered, but their latest email feels like they are escalating and I'm concerned I might even need a lawyer (I live in NYC btw). (added highlights to help with TLDR)