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4

4BLONDIE

Member
New York-Queens County

I have a boat that was in dry dock in the boatyard for the winter. I paid the marina for this service. Over the winter, a building on the property had a very serious fire which destroyed the building.

During the fire, my boat was damaged by the extream heat and flying ash. The boats canvas was destroyed and several items on the side of the boat were melted onto the hull.

I have about $2000.00 in damages.

My problem arises with who to sue in small claims court for my damages.

The entire property is owned by a corporation who occuppied the building that was destroyed. The Marina is rented to and operated by another unrelated corporation.

After the fire, I was notified by the property owners insurance carrier that due to the lack of a proper certificate of occupancy they would not cover any damages to my boat on behalf of the property owner.

I would like to recover for the damages to my boat through small claims court but question who I would sue, the property/building owner or the marina operator.

Any help you could provide will be appreciated. Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


J

JETX

Senior Member
4BLONDIE said:
I would like to recover for the damages to my boat through small claims court but question who I would sue, the property/building owner or the marina operator.
Click to expand...
Sue whoever you paid to provide the storage service to you.
However, you haven't provide a valid 'cause of action'. How was this company at fault?? The fact that a fire occurred does not establish liability.
Where was YOUR insurance in all of this??
 
4

4BLONDIE

Member
Unfortunately I only carry liability insurance on the boat.

Cause of action....

The marina because they had the boat in their custody and control???

The property owner based on the fact the had it not been for their fire my property would not have been damaged (as after a building fire..tenants in the building would recover for smoke/water damage)????
 
Y

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
4BLONDIE said:
The marina because they had the boat in their custody and control???...
The property owner based on the fact the had it not been for their fire my property would not have been damaged (as after a building fire..tenants in the building would recover for smoke/water damage)????
Click to expand...
It's not quite that simple. Let's say I parked my Ferrari in the garage at your house. Unbeknownst to either of us, that night, a cult of Satan-worshiping pyromaniacs decide to make a bonfire out of your house to roast marshmallows and my Ferrari is totaled. I then turn around and sue you. What are you going to say when you get to court? Because that's exactly what's going to happen with the marina's owners if you try to do it to them.

At the very minimum, you need to get a copy of the fire department's incident report to determine (their belief as to) the cause of the fire. Specifically, you will need the "Fire Incident Report" and the FL-101 report (if one was prepared). You can get both by sending the FDNY a FOIL request. Details on how to do that can be found at this site:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/after_fire/fire_records.shtml#access

Good luck.
 
4

4BLONDIE

Member
LOL..I enjoyed your story and I am really trying to understand this, but let's say that you parked your RED Ferrari (with no physical damage coverage) in a outdoor parking lot where you handed your keys over to the attendant and paid them a fee of $40.00. When you returned to the lot you discovered the building next door went on fire and your Ferrari was toast.

Would it just be your tough luck?

Thanks for the FDNY FOIL info.
 
J

JETX

Senior Member
4BLONDIE said:
Would it just be your tough luck?
Click to expand...
Absent ANY negligence or malice on the part of the building owner as to the cause of the fire, the car owner would be SOL... or rely on his/her insurance.
As I noted... the simple fact that a fire occurred.... is NOT liability.
 
Y

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
4BLONDIE said:
LOL..I enjoyed your story and I am really trying to understand this, but let's say that you parked your RED Ferrari (with no physical damage coverage) in a outdoor parking lot where you handed your keys over to the attendant and paid them a fee of $40.00. When you returned to the lot you discovered the building next door went on fire and your Ferrari was toast.

Would it just be your tough luck?

Thanks for the FDNY FOIL info.
Click to expand...
To reiterate what JETX has now said a bunch of times, you won't win merely because there was a fire. The marina (or any other property owner) does not provide a 100% guarantee on the safety of your vessel. If the fire was the result of causes outside the marina's control, then they are not going to be held responsible to you. On the other hand, if the fire was caused by, say, marina workers setting off fireworks, then you have a good shot at a recovery.

And this is why you should have your own insurance - they wouldn't care about the reason for the fire before they'd pay you.


{edit}
Out of curiosity, which marina was this? I don't recall seeing any news about marina fires lately, and a quick check of the one by Shea and the one off the Cross-Island didn't turn anything up.
 
4

4BLONDIE

Member
Thank you both for your time and effort...it is appreciated!

In response to your question, news reports of the fire focused on the building and not the marinas located behind and next to the building

queenscrap.blogspot.com/2009/01/college-points-n... - 155k
 
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