A Vietnam veteran is battling with a Las Vegas home-owners association after being left on the hook for $15,000 over his broken toilet.
Larry McClellan, who has lived in his home for 20 years, said that a root ruptured through his toilet in August which was traced back to a tree belonging to Taylor Association Management, but they would not accept responsibility.
“I feel like they’re spitting on the back of my neck and telling me it’s raining,” McClellan, a three-time combat veteran, told KLAS. “Like I’m too stupid to know the difference.”
The rupture resulted in an open sewer line, although the association reportedly refused to pay for it, leaving McClellan with an intial $8,000 bill. However, receipts obtained by the outlet show a final price of just under $14,695, which the HOA also refused to pay.
“We submitted all the bills from Goettl because they had to first excavate, tear everything out, replace the sewer line, bring it up to grade, put a cement, because it’s a cement sub floor underneath there, put tile, reinstall a new toilet, because the other toilet was no good,” he said.
The Independent has contacted Taylor Association Management for comment on the situation.
McClellan claims he exchanged over 60 emails with the company, but was frustrated with the slow pace of response he received.
“They move not nearly as fast as glaciers move,” he told KLAS. “Glaciers move at light speed compared to them when they are at fault.”
In one email, Taylor Management argued they were not responsible for the damage caused by the tree since it was located in a “common area.” McClellan has never maintained the tree and does not belong to him.
“I don’t have words to really express how I feel about them without resorting to stuff that I’m not supposed to say in polite company,” he told KLAS back in August.
The toilet has since been fixed. McClellan says that the tree that reportedly caused the original rupture is still outside his property and that its roots are now impacting the new toilet.
“Their actions are not those of a responsible adult,” he said. “I expect stuff like this from a five-year-old that may not know right from wrong. They know right from wrong, and still you’re only taking partial responsibility?”
McClellan plans to call the ombudsman’s office for assistance in looking into the problem and is asking for an apology and full payment from Taylor Association Management.
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