California Fair Plan v. Darrow Heating Corporation, Lennox Industries Inc.
Published: Jan. 7, 2003 | Result Date: Dec. 10, 2002 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SC066749 Verdict – $0
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Jerry C. Popovich
(Hawkins, Parnell & Young LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
John Gaffney
(technical)
R. Vasu Vasudevan
(technical)
Defendant
Douglas Bennett
(technical)
Ron Hamel
(technical)
Michael Whedon
(technical)
William A. Drake
(technical)
Allen Dudden
(technical)
Daniel S. Daderian
(technical)
Facts
On Sep. 3, 1999, the Smith home in Beverly Hills was subject to a fire in the attic, and the second floor of the home, while they were away on vacation. California Fair Plan was the fire insurer for the Smiths and paid over $906,000 for the repair of the home, for the loss of use of the home, and for the replacement of damaged and destroyed personal items. California Fair Plan sought subrogation for the insurance benefits paid from Lennox Industries, the manufacturer of the HVAC unit on the roof, and from Darrow Heating Corporation, the maintenance company for the unit in the nine years before the fire. In 1996, Darrow replaced the blower motor in the unit with a motor ordered from Lennox although it was not manufactured by Lennox.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff submitted a demand to Lennox Industries of $150,000. The defendant Lennox Industries countered with an offer of $15,000. The defendant Darrow submitted an offer to the plaintiff of $20,000. Mediation was unsuccessful. The defendants were willing to pay the costs of the defense but the plaintiff wanted at least 90 percent of the money it had paid to its insured for the fire loss.
Damages
The plaintiff, California Fire Plan, had paid out insurance benefits in the sum of $906,524 and sought to recover that sum from the defendants,
Deliberation
one hour
Poll
12-0 (on negligence of Lennox Industries Inc.), 12-0 (on negligence of Darrow Heating Corporation)
Length
six days
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