Facts

Lance and Carla Hoffman rented a house near Santa Barbara's Tea Garden. College students gathered at the garden and consumed alcohol. They started a contained fire, but failed to adequately extinguish the fire, and it quickly spread and burned a significant amount of property, including the Hoffmans' residence. The Hoffmans sued the student defendants as well as Mary Robinson, the owner of the Tea Garden. The Hoffmans alleged that Robinson was negligent, in that she knew or should have known that individuals would on occasion access her property without permission and start fires and engage in other activities, including alcohol consumption.

The Tea fire destroyed 210 homes and injured two people.

This lawsuit was consolidated with the subrogation claim by Interinsurance Exchange of Automobile Club, the California Department of Forestry, and plaintiffs James and Penny Kay's lawsuit against Ms. Robinson and the student defendants.

Injuries

The Hoffmans tried to escape the fast moving blaze but they were overtaken by flames. They underwent several surgical procedures, with more to come and racked up more than $4.6 million in medical bills.

Result

The plaintiffs, Lance and Carla Hoffman, Interinsurance Exchange of Automobile Club and James and Penny Kay settled their claims for Robinson's $6 million policy limit.