I need help with a homeowners issue... Here?s what happened:

We all thought a neighbor?s deck was leaking and causing mold in our garage. 
They paid (I?m guessing) $1000 to pull up their deck, do some
patchwork, cut a hole in our garage from the bottom, etc? to get to
the bottom of the problem that we all thought was their
responsibility.
Once the deck was taken up and holes cut, we had an expert out that
thinks it?s not the deck at all? it?s some property up the hill.
(Actually it?s community property that we, they and 2 other neighbors
own ¼ of)
Now, I have a bill from the neighbor for about $700 for the part of
the work that was done on our garage?
Is this my responsibility to pay? Or, is it the community property?s
responsibility (i.e. we all owe ¼ of it)? Or, is it the neighbors? I?m
a little nervous on this because all 3 of the neighbors are lawyers,
including the one that?s sending us the bill. Not sure what my rights
are and I have a feeling they?re trying to take advantage. Would love
your thoughts if/when you have a chance. Their 2nd "bill" is asking
for payment within 5 days.

Thanks for any help you can give! I'm around if you need more info to help me.

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Clarification of Question by sausalater-ga on 09 Mar 2004 12:40 PST

Hi louise-ga,

There was no formal agreement when the neighbor set out to do the
work. I think we all thought it was her deck causing the problem and
she paid for everything as such. Now, that it appears to not be her
deck, she wants me to pay.

To clarify the community property vs. neighbor's responsibility...
The problem seems to be coming from one of 2 spots:
1. The neighbor's deck, in which case it would seem to be her responsibility.
2. The space between our 2 houses, which is community property. If the
community property is "responsible" for the damage, I'm guessing the 4
of us have to split the costs...

But, I still need to deal with the neighbor's "bill" in the meantime... Any advice?

Silly question, but what was the agreement when you had the work
carried out?  Did you agree to split the bill?  In that case, I'd say
you are bound by it, even though the work turned out to be pointless. 
It looks like one of those cases where you just have to bear the loss.

DON'T accept their say-so on what the amount should be, though. 
Demand to see a proper invoice, with the costs broken down, so you can
see clearly what proportion relates to YOUR property.

I don't see how it can be the "community property's" responsibility. 
They would be responsible for putting right the actual damage that WAS
caused by "their" problem.  But I think it's a bit unreasonable that
they should foot the bill for a WRONG assumption, that led to a lot of
additional costs being incurred.

BUT, since you are all neighbours, and clearly get on well enough to
own a property together, is there any chance you could all reach a
"friendly" compromise, instead of getting hot under the collar about
the exact letter of the law?  You are still going to have to live next
to these people afterwards, so wouldn't it be better if you could sort
things out without having to invoke the power of the law?  $700 may
sound a lot, but maybe it's worth it, to keep the peace between all of
you?  Just a thought.