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[eochaidh94]

So, my sister went over her friends house and her friends little brother broke her tablet. The screen is basically shattered, and is beyond repair, because they don,t make the part that she needs to have it fixed.
When my sister was looking for it, her fiends little brother kept saying it was under a bed, where my sister had already looked previously, the kid went under the bed and got it.
However, there where about seven other people in the home.

Who's fault is it that the tablet is broken? And who is to pay for it?

The tablet cost about $500, is that even worth taking to small claims court? Can we? And is there a statute of limitations on this?

Thanks.

[devon]

Possibly.

Yes.

[christie42]

Statutes of limitations vary by state. 1 to 2 years is common
It does not matter what it cost new, it matters what it was worth just before the damage. Since the part is no longer available it is likely a older model.
The amount you can recover is the amount to repair or replace with the same model.
The one at fault is the one who broke it. Unless she can identify who did it she is out of luck.

Next time she won't leave her fragile computers laying around...

[urian27]

Statutes of limitations vary by state. 1 to 2 years is common
It does not matter what it cost new, it matters what it was worth just before the damage. Since the part is no longer available it is likely a older model.
The amount you can recover is the amount to repair or replace with the same model.
The one at fault is the one who broke it. Unless she can identify who did it she is out of luck.

Next time she won't leave her fragile computers laying around...

They DO make the part. They probably don't SELL the part, and it would probably cost more to repair the tablet than repair it.

Based on your statements, it WAS under the bed the whole time and you sister just didn't look closely enough to spot it. I am willing to BET it broke when SHE dropped it there.

[webb]

Davidmi7 has a good answer. I'll add a little.

She has to be able to prove who did it, not just, "I know he did it because it wasn't under the bed until he looked there". In addition, if it was broke because she left it lying around somewhere, then it could be here own fault. She knew she had a lap top that needed to be taken care of. When you bring a piece of elctronics to someone elses house it's your responsiblity to keep it in a safe place.

If this little brother is under the age of 10, well, you can't expect someone that age to take care of the electonics. Your sister should have made sure he couldn't touch it.

And, the value of a used computer is about $50. So all in all I'ld say it's not worth the trouble.