Who’s to blame for the fire and who should pay for damages?
Just as we entered the new year, residents of New Jersey and New York were shocked by the news of the Avalon apartment fire. Although we were relieved to hear that there were no victims, the photos of the apartment’s collapse and fire damage were reminiscent of a war zone. Out of compassion for the tenants who will suffer in the cold weather and the fact that many of the tenants are Korean, many Korean-American organizations have stepped forward to extend a helping hand.
Any crisis can be handled with a cool head and a calm response. We are fortunate that there were no casualties, but we cannot estimate the losses of the tenants who lost everything overnight. It’s time to calm your nerves and start thinking about the legal process to recover your losses. You need to think about who is responsible for the fire incident, who should compensate you for your losses, and what you need to keep in mind while going through the legal process.
The fire is said to have started when sparks flew while the plumbers hired by the apartment building were doing welding work. In this case, it may seem as if the plumbers are the only ones responsible for the fire. Furthermore, the apartment management office will try to shift the blame and backpedal from the damage assessment process by claiming that “we entrusted the plumbers with the job,” “we couldn’t see everything they were doing,” or “we didn’t know they were working dangerously” in order to avoid liability. It’s also true that when you hire independent contractors, such as plumbers, you are often not responsible for the results of their work.
However, courts in New York and New Jersey have come to a definite conclusion. In 2002, a condominium hired a roofer to repair its roof. Due to the roofer’s negligence, the condo caught fire and caused a lot of property damage. The condominium association argued that they had nothing to do with the damage suit because it was not their responsibility, but the sole responsibility of the outside repairman they hired. However, New York courts have held, as we expected, that the condo association is responsible for maintaining the safety of the condominium and, moreover, that the condo association should have exercised greater care when performing work that it knew was inherently dangerous, such as roofing (William Flaherty v. Fox House Condominium 299 A.D.2 D 448 2002) New Jersey is also clear on this point, and New Jersey courts have made similar findings in several cases (NJ Restatement Torts ss 835, Majestic Realty Associates Inc. v. Toti Contracting Co.).
In terms of litigation strategy, you should sue not only the plumber, but also the apartment company to maximize your compensation for your damages. In order to sue the apartment company, you need to focus on the fact that the company was responsible for the fire. Therefore, your attorney will need to gather circumstantial evidence to prove that the welding work the plumbers were doing was inherently dangerous, meaning it could have caused great harm to people or property if they weren’t careful. It’s also important to make sure that when the condominium corporation hired the plumbers, they hired experienced and qualified plumbers or hired them for frivolous reasons, such as “because they were just doing the job” or “because the employee knew them.” In addition, when litigating condominium or apartment fire damages, it’s not uncommon for things that you take for granted to change the course of the case. For example, in some of the cases we’ve worked on, whether or not the fire alarms, fire safety features, etc. were properly maintained can absolutely turn a case in the tenant’s favor. You also need to be prepared for the possibility that the company may try to file bankruptcy or close down to avoid paying damages.
Apartment and condominium corporations often have their own legal teams or dedicated law firms, and they’ve seen their fair share of damages lawsuits, so they’re likely to be more nimble and strategic in their approach to litigation than tenants. For this reason, hiring an experienced attorney to represent you can be a major factor in winning or losing your case. Also, in cases where there are multiple victims for the same reason, as in the Avalon case, it’s often effective to hire a group of attorneys to represent you.