Woman sues over faulty gate compensation demand, privacy breach

Woman sues over faulty gate compensation demand, privacy breach

2026-10-26

A mother was leaving home with her daughter one day, when no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the main gate of their apartment complex to close. Afterward, she was asked to pay for repair costs. But what made her even angrier was that even before management approached her, a notice showing her full address was posted to the public bulletin board. She decided to sue for breach of privacy, while other residents questioned whether the gate was already on the verge of breaking. Both sides are now at a stalemate over who should be held responsible.

Surveillance footage shows a young girl trying to close the gate to a residential community in Keelung. After a few unsuccessful tries, her mother comes over to help, but her efforts were equally futile.

Ms. Lin (voice altered)
Mother
We went out to buy groceries first and planned to inform management after we got back. Since my daughter wasn’t feeling well, I just wanted to get the shopping done quickly. I forgot to report it after we got back.

Concerned for her sick daughter, Ms. Lin did her shopping first and forgot to report the broken door after returning home. A bit after 5:00 that evening, she got a phone call demanding compensation. As Ms. Lin figured it was impossible for a seven-year-old child to break the door, she wanted to wait to discuss the matter with the building manager. Other residents agreed that the old gate was poorly maintained.

Ms. Lin (voice altered)
Mother
If the gate were working as it should, how could a small child break it just by opening it?

Community resident
Suspicious of fault
The gate was broken to begin with. How could a kid have enough strength to break it?

Community resident
Suspicious of fault
Everyone uses the gate. I really don’t know whether it was damaged by them or someone else.

But before receiving the awaited call from the manager, a compensation notice appeared on the bulletin board a bit after 9:00 that evening that included Ms. Lin’s full address.

Ms. Lin (voice altered)
Mother
I submitted an appeal asking them to fix the inaccuracies in their claim and remove my address, but he refused. He said it was just some text and if I was upset, I should sue.

Building manager
In compensation dispute
On the phone, they said they’d come take a look, and if they caused the damage, they’d be willing to pay. But after looking at it, they refused. We didn’t say in the notice that the child damaged it. We just stated the floor and unit number.

Ms. Lin decided to sue over breach of privacy. She also claimed the gate was nearly broken to begin with and questioned whether her family should be forced to pay for repairs. With both sides unable to reach a consensus, it’s unclear how the gate will ultimately be fixed.

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#dispute #propertydamage #privacybreach #apartment #buildingmanager #Keelung