I am not looking to get out of paying entirely. There is no need to contact an attorney. I know the deed does say the driveway is a shared expense. I think it is exactly a case of poor impulse control on the part of one of the owners.
One problem is I have no idea how much things should cost. 10K seems outrageous to me, but perhaps not so much. I certainly do not feel that I got a great “deal.”
Another thing that I find annoying and peculiar is that the quote (bill) I was presented says proposal two. I imagine that proposal 1 was less expensive, and that perhaps proposal 3 was more. I will try to take a gander of these.
I would think about $4.00 per sq foot including tear out would be a high but reasonable estimate. So I would think you would not have much trouble beating that bid. That being said asphalt contracting is known to have a good number of shisters, using a reliable contractor is important.
When the cost is being shared by 5 parties the reliable contractor part is important. For just my own driveway I’d try the bargain route and fight it out with the guy if I didn’t like the results. With multiple people involved you don’t want to add a contractor fight to the problems you might already have with the others.
The only thing I find unreasonable is that one tenant committed to the work without the full advance approval of all the others. I’d take steps - polite but firm ones - to ensure it doesn’t happen again. I assume you have some kind of CC&R or tenancy agreement that covers the situation - did this incident follow those terms? If not, make payment with a gentle “under protest of process” note, possibly from your lawyer.
Contesting it is probably pointless and destructive. Saying nothing is a road to more and worser things happening. Pay… but make your point, too.
I would have a chat with the other two neighbours and see what they think. I would also consider having a proper legal document drawn up to make it impossible for this to happen again.
In the uk there are a large number of shared driveways. They are easily spotted because they are often crumbling away, covered in weeds and have potholes you could lose a small car in. This is nearly always because one or more of the owners won’t or can’t pay their share. This can have a seriously detrimental effect when the time comes to sell up.
It is not just the road surface either, there are pavements (sidewalks) that might be held liable for trips and falls, and the drains and other services underneath. I would be very wary of buying a property on what we refer to as an unadopted road (unadopted by the local council)