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What is reasonable to ask for after a fire?

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honest60

Junior Member
California, my house burned down due to my neighbor's modified fireplace. The cause and origin from the insurance company and the fire department was my neighbors fireplace that had been modified (by him). I would like to take him to small claims because we ran out of temporary housing money on our insurance policy. We also paid our deductible of $500. What types of damages can I ask to be reimbursed for in small claims court against my neighbor? Are punitve damages possible since he has prolonged the process, denied owning the home, denied having insurance when he actually did, etc...
 


justalayman

Senior Member
the very first thing you will have to do is prove negligence. Without that, you lose. A modification does not necessarily equal negligence and without negligence, you have no liability.


what you can make a claim for are actual damages. So far all you have listed was your $500 deductible. If you have more actual damages, add those to it and make your claim.


as to your thoughts on why punitive damages would be applicable:

he has prolonged the process,
no
denied owning the home,
so? but no

denied having insurance when he actually did, etc...
totally irrelevant. Whether he has insurance of not has nothing to do with anything. He is not required to submit a claim to his insurance company, even if he has insurance.
 

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