Confidential
Settlement – $131,427Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Harold J. Light
(Law Offices of Harold J. Light)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Eric David
(technical)
Defendant
Phillip Gruber
(technical)
Stuart H. Salsbury
(technical)
Robert H. Reinhardt
(technical)
Facts
On Jan. 30, 2000, a fire damaged the guest house which the plaintiff leased from the defendant. The fire severely
damaged or destroyed much of the plaintiffÆs personal property, including many irreplaceable family
heirlooms. Although, the plaintiff was not present at the premises at the time of the fire, she was deeply
disturbed by the damage and the destruction of her possessions and the prospect that she could have been
killed had she been home.
In connection with the fire, the City of Los Angeles Fire Department determined that the source of heat igniting
the fire was a short circuit with arching from defective/worn wire insulation. After the fire, the defendant
allowed the plaintiff to stay in another accommodation at the same address. After the plaintiffÆs attorney
contacted the defendant to discuss notifying her insurance carrier about the plaintiffÆs claim, the defendant
forced the plaintiff to leave the property.
Before the lawsuit commenced, the plaintiffÆs counsel submitted a claim to the
defendantÆs insurance carrier, Allstate Insurance Co. AllstateÆs in-house adjuster denied any
liability for the fire and took the position that the electrical system did not have problems at the
time of the fire and outright refused to discuss any pre litigation resolution of the dispute.
Settlement Discussions
At the mediation in August 2001, the defendant offered $5,000 to settle the case. Following the mediation, the plaintiff made a C.C.P. Section 998 offer for $199,999. The defendant made no further settlement offers until the mandatory settlement conference in December 2001. At the mandatory settlement conference, the defendantÆs offer increased to $50,000 and ultimately to $100,000. The case settled at $131,427 on the day the parties were to select a jury.
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