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![]() Shabbat Parashat Bereishit 5784P'ninat Mishpat: Responsibility for a Replaced Water Heating System(based on ruling 83017 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)Case: The plaintiff (=pl), a yeshiva, bought a solar hot water system from the defendant (=def), who also installed it. Def set up the system so that it could handle excess heat without pl’s intervention. Pl paid def the full price of 173,000 NIS. Pl used the system’s timer to supply hot water to the dorms only a few hours a day. The system worked well until the end of the school year. In August, after pl’s workers closed the circulation of water because the students left, one of the tanks exploded. Def rerouted the system, and later two more tanks exploded and three more were damaged. Def told pl not to rely on the system anymore and urged them to get a different system (elsewhere), which pl did for 180,000 NIS. Beit din’s expert reported that the system was vulnerable when not used for extended periods, especially when parts of the system were cut off from the rest. He estimated the damage to the system at 29,000 NIS. Pl demands return of 173,000 NIS because def provided pl with a system that was unfit for the job needed. They also complain about def’s flawed advice to buy the new system. Def responds that pl caused the problems by using the hot water only a few hours a day and then shutting off the system, about which pl had not informed def. Ruling: With the features pl included, the system could have operated safely had pl used it differently. Therefore, pl cannot nullify the sale based on mekach taut. In fact, it can still be used with replacements and repairs. Def cannot be blamed for the damages, as he installed the system properly and did not give the directions to detach parts of it during the summer break. There was, though, deficiency in def’s work from the time the problems surfaced. Def advised that it was not salvageable and that a new system was needed, which was exaggerated and therefore incorrect. Def should have figured out why the tanks were damaged, as our expert did, if necessary by bringing in someone who could do so, which would have made buying a new system unnecessary. Halacha discusses various factors that determine when a professional who gives bad advice that causes loss of money is obligated (see Bava Kama 99b): One with high-level expertise has reason to be exempt. One who is paid is more likely to be obligated. While def is an expert on some level, he admitted to not having much experience with systems of this magnitude. A third factor is whether the professional knew that the client was relying upon him. (ibid. 100a). The Rif (ad loc.) says that he is obligated only if the reliance was explicit, and the Shulchan Aruch accepts this opinion. Tosafot say that implicit reliance suffices, and some Acharonim rule that way. In our case, while it was not explicit, the reliance was very clear from the interactions, as def continued to be connected as they were getting the new system. Therefore, all should agree that def is obligated. Getting the new system made the old system useless, wasting the latter’s value, which is 173,000 NIS minus the devaluation that already existed without def’s fault (29,000 NIS). Therefore, the payment due is 144,000 NIS. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() More articles from this issue: We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for: Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha Arye Yitzchak ben Geula Miriam Neta bat Malka Meira bat Esther Together with all cholei Yisrael
to the memory of: for our homeland Prof. Yisrael Aharoni z"l Kislev 14, 5783 Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Mr. Shmuel & Esther Shemesh z"l Sivan 17 / Av 20 Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l Tishrei 20 ,5781 R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l Rav Carmel's father Iyar 8 ,5776 Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h. Tamuz 10 ,5774 Rav Asher & Susan Wasserteil z"l R' Meir ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l & Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l Tevet 16 ,5780 R 'Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha and Chana bat Yaish & Simcha Sebbag, z"l Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l Rav Benzion Grossman z"l R' Abraham & Gita Klein z"l Iyar 18, /5779Av 4 Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton) Polin z"l R' Yitzchak Zev Tarshansky z"l Adar 28, 5781 Nina Moinester z"l Nechama Osna bat Yitzhak Aharon & Doba Av 30, 5781 Rabbi Dr. Jerry Hochbaum z"l Adar II 17, 5782 Mrs. Julia Koschitzky z"l Adar II 18, 5782 Mrs. Leah Meyer z"l Nisan 27, 5782 Mr. Shmuel & Rivka Brandman z"l Tevet 16 5783/ Iyar 8, 5781 R' Yitzchak Eliezer ben Avraham Mordechai Jacobson z"l Elul 15 Hemdat Yamim |