California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Davert v. Larson, 163 Cal.App.3d 407, 209 Cal.Rptr. 445 (Cal. App. 1985):
It is clear that considerations of public policy require that any departure from the common law rule of liability of individual owners of property in common cannot operate to the substantial detriment of third parties (Lipson v. Superior Court, supra, 31 Cal.3d at p. 372, 182 Cal.Rptr. 629, 644 P.2d 822). Since California law does not require insurance to protect third parties in the case of common area torts, relieving individual owners in common of liability would eliminate any motivation on the part of any party to exercise due care in the management and control of commonly owned property and could leave third parties with no remedy at law.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.