Facts

Plaintiff John Beery is the majority owner of Carriage House, a three-story waterfront building. He leased the first floor of the building to Commodore Dining Cruises Inc. Commodore subleased the area to Larry and Della Murphy. Carriage House approved of the sublease. The sublease incorporated several parts of the lease, but the agreement was never memorialized in writing. Three years later, the entire Carriage House structure was destroyed by fire. Beery and Carriage House brought suit against the Murphy's for negligence.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
At trial, the plaintiffs presented evidence from a fire cause and origin expert, who found no evidence of arson. He testified that someone throwing a lit cigarette into a trashcan started the fire. The plaintiffs also presented eyewitness testimony in support of their expert's conclusion. The plaintiffs emphasized that Carriage House never had any prior building or fire code violations. They claimed that because the fire began in the first floor kitchen area subleased to the Murphy's, the Murphy's were responsible.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The Murphy's claimed that the cause of the fire was arson. The defendant's fire cause and origin expert conducted an eleven-day examination of the fire scene, assisted by an alert dog. She presented samples of various accelerates she gathered from the scene. The defendants also presented eyewitness testimony, surveillance video and amateur video to present a time-line of events. They demonstrated that all the workers and patrons had left the restaurant at around 10:40 p.m., and that at 10:52, the door was open and lights in the restaurant were illuminated. Witnesses testified that the fire began shortly after 11 p.m., the first alarm was called to 911 at 11:03, and the fire had engulfed the entire building by the time fire fighters arrived at 11:09. The defendants emphasized that plaintiff's fire expert had never visited the scene and was hired over two years after the fire. The defendants also disputed the plaintiff's loss claims, and argued that plaintiff's insurance policy, which paid $924,630, was sufficient to satisfy all plaintiffs’ reasonable damage claims.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiffs demanded $1.2 million, defendants offered to waive costs.

Damages

Carriage House claimed $5 million in damages and lost rental income. Beery, who maintained an apartment on the third floor of the building, claimed $100,000 in lost personal items.

Result

The jury found for the defense.

Other Information

Carriage House and Beery originally brought suit against Commodore and its principal owners, Ward and Susan Proescher, for breach of contract and negligence. After nearly a year of litigation, plaintiffs dismissed their claims against Commodore and the Proeschers and sued the Murphys for negligence. The Murphys filed a dispositive motion in limine to defeat the negligence claim, because the lease agreement did not include fire damage. Their motion was denied because the Murphys had never signed the lease agreement. After trial, plaintiffs moved to a JNOV, which was denied. The defendants filed a cost bill of $115,000. They also anticipate filing a claim for approximately $250,000 in attorney fees. As of June 28, 2006, plaintiffs filed Notice of Appeal.

Deliberation

1.5 hours

Poll

12-0

Length

seven weeks