• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

insurance claim of payment

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

re47

Member
What is the name of your state?Illinois
I wa involved in a fire at last apartment I lived at , it was caused by a faulty heating pad anyway, the insurance company that the landlord had paid out money to him for his claim, now they are going through a law firm to get me to pay for the damages, it is about 47,000 dollars , what do I do?
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state?Illinois
I wa involved in a fire at last apartment I lived at , it was caused by a faulty heating pad anyway, the insurance company that the landlord had paid out money to him for his claim, now they are going through a law firm to get me to pay for the damages, it is about 47,000 dollars , what do I do?
Did you have renters insurance? If so, you should turn the case over to them. If not, you might have to consider bankruptcy unless you are in a position to negotiate a payment arrangement.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Renter INS. Only covers contents not building,also not sure I signed a leasr
It also covers your liability for negligence. The landlord's insurance company is trying to hold you liable for negligence.
 

re47

Member
could you define negligence? it was a heating pad that had a two hour shut off that failed, I am trying to avoid bankruptcy, is there really no other option , and again if I did not sign a lease am I still liable?
 

Just Blue

Senior Member
could you define negligence? it was a heating pad that had a two hour shut off that failed, I am trying to avoid bankruptcy, is there really no other option , and again if I did not sign a lease am I still liable?
1.Neglect = Leaving a heating pad on without supervision.
2. Yes.

Have you called your insurance company to report this to them?

You might have a suit against the maker of the electric heating pad. MIGHT. Look at the instruction booklet and see if there is a warning against leaving the pad on when you aren't using it.
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
could you define negligence? it was a heating pad that had a two hour shut off that failed, I am trying to avoid bankruptcy, is there really no other option , and again if I did not sign a lease am I still liable?
It was still your heating pad that caused the fire. If you didn't have liability insurance as part of your renter's insurance you need to defend yourself. You could also sue the maker of the heating pad.
 

re47

Member
THC for replies, is there any recourse if no renters ind? And not enough money to pay other than bkrupsy
?
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
You defend yourself in court when they sue you. You may get lucky and they won't be able to prove you at fault. And as mentioned they may, in suing you, provide enough evidence for you to sue the maker of the heating pad.
 

re47

Member
Looks likey options are preety bleak,I don't understand how they think they are going to get their money back from someone who is 63 years old living on ss and temp jobs, I hpe they feel proud of themselves! This will ruin what credit I have and wipe out any chance of a happy end of my life, I was the victim here my wife spent two weeks in the hospital, with burns and smoke inhalation, Still struggling to pay hospital bills and then to rebuild our lives, there's a special place in hell for companys like this!
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Looks likey options are preety bleak,I don't understand how they think they are going to get their money back from someone who is 63 years old living on ss and temp jobs, I hpe they feel proud of themselves! This will ruin what credit I have and wipe out any chance of a happy end of my life, I was the victim here my wife spent two weeks in the hospital, with burns and smoke inhalation, Still struggling to pay hospital bills and then to rebuild our lives, there's a special place in hell for companys like this!
Your insurance company will should provide an attorney to defend you.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Looks likely options are pretty bleak
Might not be. Illinois case law appears not to allow the insurance company to seek reimbursement from you.

Residential Lease. Illinois has until recently avoided per se rules with regard to the "Sutton Rule" (see Oklahoma) and taken a more flexible case-by-case approach, holding that a tenant’s liability to the landlord’s insurer for negligently causing a fire depends on the intent and reasonable expectations of the parties to the lease as ascertained from the lease as a whole. Dix Mut. Ins. Co. v. LaFramboise, 597 N.E.2d 622, 625 (Ill. 1992). Dix was a case involving a residential
lease. The Supreme Court said that although a tenant is generally liable for fire damage caused to the leased premises by his negligence, if the parties intended to exculpate the tenant from the negligently caused fire damage, their intent - as expressed in the lease agreement - will be enforced. To make this determination, the lease must be interpreted as a whole so as to give effect to the intent of the parties. Stein v. Yarnall-Todd Chevrolet, Inc., 241 N.E.2d 439 (Ill. 1968). In Dix, the residential lease did not contain a provision expressly apportioning fault in the case of a negligently caused fire, so the Court construed the lease as a whole and concluded that it did not reflect any intent that the tenant would be responsible for fire damage. Absent any such intent, the tenant is considered a co-insured with the landlord by virtue of having paid rent which contributed to the insurance premiums, and the subrogated insurer could not sue its own insured for subrogation.

The rule, therefore, appears to be that a tenant will be an implied co-insured and cannot be sued by the landlord’s subrogee for fire or other damage unless a contrary intent can be gleaned from the four corners of the lease itself. Auto Owners Ins. Co. a/s/o John Ellis v. Thomas Callaghan, 952 N.E.2d 119 (Ill. App. 2011). Where a lease reflects the parties’ intent to place the responsibility for water damage on the tenants, they will not be considered implied co-insureds. Pekin Ins. Co. v. Murphy, 2014 WL 6092187 (Ill. App. 2014).

Oral Lease. The same outcome results from an oral lease which contains only basic terms such as rent and duration of the lease. Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. DuPlessis, 848 N.E.2d 220 (Ill. App. 2006).
https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/landlord-tenant-subrogation-in-all-50-states.pdf

Since you are on an oral month to month agreement, with minimal obligations, it appears that the DuPlessis decision would apply. You can read the DuPlessis decision. It's short and easy to understand.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16611106304685399289&q=cincinnati+v+duplessis&hl=en&as_sdt=4,14

The Illinois Supreme Court denied a petition for appeal.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5029577634277182264&q=cincinnati+v+duplessis&hl=en&as_sdt=4,14

If you did sign a lease, Dix would apply, and you would have to read it to determine the intent of the parties.

If you have a renters policy report the claim to your insurance company ASAP and remind the claim rep of the Dix and DuPlessis case decisions.

If you don't have a renters policy, copy the DuPlessis decision and send it to the attorney representing the insurance company and see if he backs off.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top