Part 5 published on 01/02/04
Defendant did not cause fire.
A condominium townhouse unit was damaged by fire. The damage was covered by property insurers of the corporation and the unit owner. The insurers then brought this claim under their rights of subrogation.
The Court found that the likely cause of the fire was a cigarette left in the rear yard. The defendant (the boyfriend of the unit owner) had disposed of a cigarette in the rear yard. The unit owner’s son had disposed of a separate cigarette in the rear yard.
The Court found that the defendant was not an un-named insured under the insurance policy. Therefore, the insurer could assert the subrogated claim against the defendant. [The Court noted that an insurer cannot subrogate against it’s own insured.] However, the Court concluded that the defendant’s cigarette did not cause the fire. The Court concluded that the fire was caused by the other cigarette.