How far does California’s grant of immunity for the tortious acts of firefighters extend, and specifically, when can a fire department be liable for the negligent operation of its fire engine? The California Court of Appeal in Varshock v. Cal. Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection (2011) D057709 attempted to answer these questions in a...
Louisiana. Home of the Big Easy, Mardi Gras and drive-thru daiquiri bars. Louisiana is also home to a unique legal system called the civil code system, which the Pelican State inherited from French and Spanish settlers. Basically, a civil code legal system means that most of Louisiana law originates from codes and statutes, rather than...
A newly released study addresses the CSST failure scenario and suggests significant testing in an effort to “mitigate” it. The report, which is 267 pages is entitled, Validation of Installation Methods for CSST Gas Piping to Mitigate Lightning Related Damage. The report was issued by the Fire Protection Research Foundation, a group that consists of...
Lightning strikes and a water heater fails resulting in a fire. Is the subrogation investigation over? Not if the water heater failure involves a Gas Appliance Connector (GAC). GAC’s have properties similar to Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST). Recently, in a case tried by Cozen O’Connor, a jury imposed fault on a CSST manufacturer, finding...
A fire occurs in a garbage can causing damage to a home. Joe and John Smith, construction workers installing hardwood flooring in the home on and prior to the date of the fire, admit that they smoke each day near the job site. They further admit that they typically extinguish and then discard their cigarettes...
In February 2011, the Oregon Court of Appeals reaffirmed that the doctrine of "inverse condemnation" is alive and well in Oregon. Inverse condemnation claims do not require a showing of negligence, and instead arise by showing that a government actor (e.g. a city) “substantially interfered” with an owner’s right to use his or her property,...
Georgia has a statute of repose for claims involving defective products. O.C.G.A. §51-11-11(b)(2) states that “no action shall be commenced pursuant to this subsection with respect to an injury after ten years from the date of the first sale for use or consumption of the personal property causing or otherwise bringing about the injury.” [Emphasis...
Don’t look now, but the Texas Legislature may be back up to its old tricks. That’s right, "tort reform" has once again become a hot topic in Texas. On March 14, 2011, two separate bills were introduced in the state Senate and the state house of Representatives that could fundamentally alter civil litigation in Texas...
Riding motocross has been part of my life for nearly twenty years. Every weekend as a kid, I would wake my parents up early, load my motorcycle in the back of a truck, and we would drive to the local motocross track. The line of trucks waiting to enter couldn’t move fast enough. I remember...
Earlier this year, a fire investigator advised me that the 2011 edition of NFPA 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, would be coming out in February. He alerted me that the new edition was “doing away with the process of elimination method for determining the cause of a fire.” Not much later a client...
