New England States
The Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman received a “new” assignment for damages related to an alleged construction defect almost two years after the loss occurred …
In a case inherited almost a year after a fire of unknown cause at a Connecticut lumber mill, the Stutman team recovered 60% of the loss after depositions showed that contractors working inside the mill were smoking and using a saw that spewed sparks onto combustible material …
A blaze at a retirement home in Connecticut started when a relative of one of the residents stubbed out a cigarette in a potted plant on an outside balcony. Stutman’s litigation team sued the contractors who designed and built the building and, despite a waiver of subrogation, reached a six-figure settlement before a single deposition was taken …
A tenant’s boyfriend dropped hot coals from a barbecue into a shed attached to her apartment complex, causing a fire. Although Massachusetts bars a landlord’s insurer from pursuing recovery from a tenant, it was no bar to recovery of $300,000 from the boyfriend’s homeowner’s insurer …
A Massachusetts rail yard agreed to a $38,000 settlement for the loss of a cargo container when the yard flooded after a severe storm. The owners knew the yard was prone to flooding, had ample warning of the storm, and couldn’t claim this “Act of God” was unforeseen …
Middle Atlantic States
As part of a $36 million out-of-court settlement, more than a dozen insurance carriers will recover a significant amount of the payments they made to their insureds as a result of the August 2008 fire at the Riverwalk Millennium Apartment Complex in suburban Philadelphia …
A heating expert retained by the Stutman firm established that a gas explosion in a New Jersey nursing home was triggered when a plumber tried to relight the boiler, leading to a $287,500 settlement …
The Stutman firm recovered 65% of the loss from a fire in a New York state home started by an improperly installed 20-year-old pellet stove when it showed that contractors who repaired the stove just months before the fire should have detected the defect …
Homeowner’s insurance paid $187,441 for water damage caused when a drug user set off the sprinkler system in a New York hotel room …
A landlord’s waiver of subrogation for “fire insurance policies” didn’t extend to extensive water damage caused to a tenant in a New York City high-rise when the sprinkler system in the stories above broke, leading to a six-figure settlement …
When contractors accidentally hit a gas line near a home, they called the gas company for help. A gas company employee who responded within minutes said he conducted a perimeter test and failed to find any sign of gas, but a subsequent explosion demolished the property. After investigating the site and determining that a perimeter test could not have been done, Stutman attorneys confronted the gas worker, who admitted he lied, and the case went to an amicable, six-figure settlement …
When a 12-year-old barn in Pennsylvania collapsed in a snowstorm, Stutman attorneys knew they had to act fast to ensure the state’s Statute of Repose would not bar a recovery, and filed suit immediately. The court ruled in the insured’s favor, charging that the builder failed to install a proper roof truss …
The Stutman firm recovered 90% of the fire loss to a Pennsylvania home when an HVAC contractor failed to follow OSHA requirements for “hot work” when installing a new furnace …
The catastrophic collapse of a commercial cage system housing 100,000 laying hens required Stutman’s structural engineers to make a hazardous investigation of the property, still prone to further collapse and health risks. But Stutman’s engineer showed that the cage system’s original design was flawed, and the manufacturer settled before a single witness was deposed …
Careful investigation and expert testimony led to a seven-figure settlement in the case of the wrongful death of a Pennsylvania woman whose car was pushed into opposing traffic by a commercial vehicle. Because the Stutman firm was able to establish conscious pain and suffering along with a lifetime of economic losses, the victim’s family obtained a significant, seven figure settlement without enduring a prolonged trial …
When a refrigerator malfunction triggered a fire, Stutman’s cause and origin experts recommended retaining the refrigerator and its contents as evidence, and an electrical engineer determined that an electrical relay had failed, causing the fire. After the manufacturer recalled 1.6 million refrigerators to repair an identical electrical failure, it agreed to a settlement of $430,000 …
A fire in a Pennsylvania commercial building caused by the spontaneous combustion of sawdust and polyurethane led to a $5.5 million settlement brokered by the Stutman firm …
The Stutman team recently settled a Worker’s Compensation subrogation recovery of $975,000 in the case of a Reading, Pa., engineering student. The student received second- and third-degree burns to his face and hands when a defect in an electrical panel led to an arc flash …
A Monroe County, Pa., jury awarded $700,000 to the insurer of an outlet store in Marshalls Creek destroyed by a fire started when a contractor carelessly discarded a cigarette …
South Atlantic States
The Stutman team recently reached a settlement of $950,000 in a case that literally was almost lost on the day of the fire …
A large commercial warehouse was destroyed by one of the largest fires in the city’s history. After several years of litigation and discovery, the Stutman Firm established that the fire was initially caused by a defective metal halide lamp that endured what is known in the lighting industry as a “non-passive end of life failure” …
Even though the insured’s own careless cook caused a fire, the insurers of a restaurant in Dover, Del., recovered $500,000 from the company that installed and maintained the fire suppression system because it should have activated and suppressed the fire in its early stages …
A prompt response was essential to recovery when a gas explosion at a Florida chemical plant with limited insurance coverage caused deaths, injuries and property damage. Stutman’s team investigated the site, determined the cause of the explosion, and submitted a package to support property loss estimates to the plant’s attorneys, getting an immediate settlement of more than $40,000 …
A Georgia nut packer experienced a small but costly fire when a metal halide light bulb exploded, melting its outdated plastic confinement barrier and starting a fire that led to extensive water and smoke damage and the contamination of its inventory. The Stutman firm showed both negligence and product defect, since the light didn’t employ a newer, metal shield, and negotiated a significant settlement on the $3.5 million loss …
When pipes froze and broke in a Maryland vacation home, the Stutman firm sought recovery for the water damage from the seasonal tenant, even though state law prohibits a landlord’s insurers from pursuing such recoveries. The firm’s investigation showed the renters had abandoned the property for weeks during the winter, failed to maintain adequate heat and ignored problems with the heating system, a basis for recovering $750,000 in damages …
The Stutman firm recovered $1.25 million from a plumber who started a fire while soldering a water line caused a fire in a Maryland apartment building. The firm showed that he had failed to follow NFPA code, including the requirement to maintain a fire watch …
The Stutman firm obtained $250,000 in settlement from the homeowners’ insurance of both a hotel guest and a visitor at an extended stay hotel in North Carolina where hot cooking oil, left unattended, has sparked a fire …
The Stutman’s firm testing of CPVC sprinkler pipe that failed, causing $130,000 in water damage to a South Carolina resort, showed it retained only 40% of its strength after being stored outside in the sun for more than eight years during the resort’s construction. The installation manual advised discarding faded sections …
The firm recovered $200,000 for the damage to a new home nearing completion that was caused by spontaneous combustion of a contractor’s stain-soiled rags. The case was complicated by inconsistent testimony from the contractors and the original fire investigator, who changed his official opinion as to the cause of the fire after deposition by the Stutman litigation team …
A West Virginia homeowner notified the power company when a fallen tree downed electrical lines in a snowstorm. When the power company restored power, arcing took place in the electrical conduit attached to the house, igniting the vinyl siding. Stutman’s litigation team recovered 90% of the loss by showing that restoring the electrical power to the house before checking on the downed wire was negligent …
East Central States
In 2005 a disgruntled employee set two fires inside a plastic injection molding facility. The fire set near the rack storage area of the building quickly overwhelmed the water based sprinkler system and virtually destroyed the entire facility. The fire was investigated by local, state and federal agencies who all concluded that the cause of the fire was arson …
Interviews with local officials led the Stutman firm to propose a theory for what caused the water damage to an Illinois dental office, leading to successful recovery of 100% of the insurance claim …
After a $100,000 loss due to water damage in an Indiana commercial building undergoing upgrades, the general contractor agreed to a settlement when depositions showed that he had failed to oversee the jobsite and its subcontractors …
The Stutman firm reached a substantial, six-figure recovery for the insurer of an Indiana building that sustained more than $394,000 in damage and $35,000 in business interruption losses when a fire in a plastics plant jumped the tracks and leveled the building …
The firm recovered $650,000 from a painting sub-contractor by showing that numerous OSHA violations contributed to the spread of the fire that destroyed a luxury home under construction in Carmel, Indiana …
Although city officials had inspected and approved a fireplace in a Frankenmuth, Mich., the cause of a destructive fire, the Stutman firm recovered $400,000 from the general contractor by showing that the fireplace violated Michigan’s Residential Code …
A jury awarded 100% of the loss for an insurer and compensation for the owner of a home in Jackson County, Mich., destroyed by a gas explosion caused by the utility’s unsafe practices …
The Stutman firm recovered $1.5 million from an inexperienced roofer for the insurer of a Michigan hotel damaged by fire …
When a dishwasher caused water damage to an upscale Michigan home, Stutman attorneys aggressively pursued the appliance maker and the manufacturer of its faulty heating element, recovering 100% of the loss …
When fire broke out in a Minnesota machine shop, causing significant smoke and water damage to a commercial building next door, experts suspected a product design failure in old machinery outside the statute of repose, and unrecoverable. But Stutman experts showed that negligent use of the machine was to blame, recovering 67% of the RCV …
The Stutman firm earned a five-figure settlement for the loss caused by a Missouri house fire started when a two-year-old heating pad set a sofa ablaze …
The Stutman firm won a substantial Worker’s Compensation insurance recovery in the case of a St. Louis man killed by an exploding water expansion tank …
When a sump pump in the basement of an Ohio home failed, causing a small fire, there was extensive smoke and soot damage. Based on the report of an engineering expert as to the mechanics of the failure, Stutman attorneys obtained a Stipulation of Liability and, after a subsequent reenactment, a six-figure settlement …
When fire cause by spontaneous combustion of a painter’s rags damaged an Ohio home under construction, defendants argued that there was an implied waiver in the construction contract. Stutman’s attorneys defeated the motion to dismiss and reached a six-figure settlement based on the failure to clean the job site …
The Stutman team recovered $265,000 from a tenant of a garden apartment in Kentucky damaged when a fire started on the deck during a party. Careful deposition showed that the fire originated on the railing where the tenant had provided a plastic bottle for smokers …
The Stutman firm reached a $175,000 settlement in Kentucky in the case of water damage caused when an employee of the sprinkler system was tightening a bolt on the system. Although the defendant was protected by a contract that waived subrogation, Stutman’s litigation team established that neither party read or understood the waiver within the contract, so there was therefore no “meeting of the minds.” This netted a six-figure recovery in a case arguably barred by contract …
West Central States
Despite efforts by a Minnesota sprinkler maintenance firm to dispose of evidence it had caused a freeze up that led to water damage in an assisted living facility, an engineering analysis by Stutman's experts led to a confidential settlement …
Despite the fact a Texas client’s own experts removed vital evidence after an apartment house fire, the firm reached a substantial out-of-court settlement after a thorough investigation systematically showed the fire’s origin …
Without warning, the hydraulic boom of a truck mounted boom crane failed to maintain its hydraulic pressure and collapsed, resulting in critical injuries to two occupants working within a basket suspended 70’ above the ground …
A gas company’s negligent instructions to its contractor led to an explosion and fire in a residential property located in Boonville, Missouri. Investigation of the residential property revealed that the fire originated at a furnace located in the basement of the property …
When expert analysis showed that a defective coffee-maker, and not nearby appliances, caused a kitchen fire, the Stutman firm recovered 95% of the provable damage claim …
Mountain States
The firm made a six-figure recovery for the injury a Montana ranch worker suffered when he tried to dislodge a lawnmower from a fence where it had snagged …
The firm recovered 50% of the loss from water damage when a braided steel water supply line broke in an Arizona home …
The Stutman firm recovered more than $1 million for damages caused by fire in a multi-million dollar home under construction in Colorado …
Pacific States
The Stutman team recently recovered $750,000 in a subrogation litigation arising out of a condominium building fire in Washington State …
Despite the building owner’s failure to retain the evidence and deposition testimony inconsistent with Stutman’s theory of liability, the Stutman firm was able to secure a significant confidential six-figure settlement prior to trial …
The City of Los Angeles recently reached a settlement of more than $600,000 with the Stutman firm for the damage to a commercial property on Rodeo Drive caused by a sinkhole …
The Stutman firm recovered $300,000 for the insurer of a Spokane, Wash., apartment complex destroyed by a fire started by the building’s new manager on the day she moved in …
The Stutman firm recovered $600,000 for a Southern California strip mall razed by a fire set by an unlicensed roofer …
