This coming Thursday, the five victims of the Christmas fire in Stamford, Connecticut will be laid to rest. In terms of human tragedy, at least for those of us in CT, this resonates with the Cheshire h0me invasion during which three members of the Petit family were murdered.
However, the fire which destroyed the $1.725 million Victorian house also is a legal matter of insurance. Ruled an accident, the fire, investigators report, was caused by smoldering embers from a fireplace log which had been put in a bag and deposited near the house. That's one insurance-related legal issue which requires the opinion of lawyers.
The other matter related to any insurance claim is that, according to the letter of the law, there should have been no one residing in the house during renovations until those modifications had been approved for occupancy.
Sure there is plenty of sympathy for the owner of the house and mother and daughter of the deceased - Madonna Badger. However, insurance folks are a hard-nosed group, as well they should be. The payoff of any insurance claim for the house, which had to be demolished because it was unsafe, is one consideration. Others would involve the payoff on any insurance policies for the five victims, two adults and three children.
Lawyers are invited to submit commentary on any of these points of law or to provide an interview by email or phone. If the latter, lawyers can review copy before it is posted. Input can be provided on or off the record. In both cases, the opinions will be posted on this blog verbatim. If on the record, there will also be posted information about the lawyer and law firm. Photos and logos welcome. Please contact editor of this blog Jane Genova, mgenova981@aol.com, 203-468-8579. This issue is not going away. Therefore, opinions will be posted on an ongoing basis, way after the holidays are over.
The public service aspect of this is educating property owners about knowing the letter of the law and staying within it.
I decided any sort of incident, the fireplace, researchers review, was due to smoldering sparks from a fireplace place log which had been put in a bag and placed near the house.
Posted by: תריסים | January 30, 2012 at 01:11 PM
I understand the insurance companys' issues, however, how much more torture is Ms. Badger to be put through. A mother and father have lost the only thing that truly matters in this world, their beloved children. Let us pray for these people to somehow find strength.
Posted by: M. Portera | January 04, 2012 at 06:51 PM
Wow. What we don't know can bite us in the proverbial. Compound the tragedy with legalisms, or is it justice not to benefit financially from carelessness.
Posted by: Peter Flierl | December 31, 2011 at 02:59 PM