So we've decided we're definitely going to fight it as we don't feel it is acceptable for us be responsible for the entire floor. The floor was 9 years old and we believe the damage was caused by lack of maintenance on their AC unit in the adjacent room. We're going to file a complaint with this group (
Consumer Complaint, Mediation & Arbitration Guide - Fairfax County, Virginia) in an attempt to mediate the issue before turning to court. I plan on meeting with a lawyer shortly to see our options.
My question is, should we warn them we feel they are being unreasonable in their claims and will be submitting a complaint? Should we simply not respond? Should we be more aggressive as JR pointed out. Mentioning we will be obtaining legal counsel, but would rather eliminate this issue immediately.
Also, for the record, we offered 1,000 last night to get rid of everything and they scoffed. So... I'm guessing we'll end up going through the dance.