Partner F. Todd Weston, working alongside his former Chicago colleagues from Foran Glennon, successfully concluded a two-week trial in Etowah County, Alabama with the jury returning a $4.5 million verdict for the subrogated property insurer and insured clients. The claims resulted from a catastrophic fire spreading throughout the defendant’s 60,000-square-foot warehouse. The fire that destroyed the insured’s specialty manufacturing equipment was one of the largest fires in Alabama history, and the verdict represents a 100% subrogation recovery of the client’s claimed damages.
The severity of the fire resulted in the State of Alabama diverting millions of tons of water to the warehouse property to fight the fire and included the use of more than 600 firefighters to extinguish the fire, which took several weeks to complete.
Counsel established and proved ownership and transfer of care, custody and control of the destroyed equipment, and the terms of the applicable storage contract, which required the warehouse owner to obtain insurance on the equipment which they failed to do. Through extensive discovery, it was determined that the warehouse company was the owner of the building, and failed to permit numerous fire suppression system deficiencies to exist and persist including:
- lack of system design and fuel load analysis
- lack of fire pumps, a water tank, and a water reservoir
- lack of annual system inspections
- failure to maintain the water main piping to the system that resulted in a critical water supply pipe burst and loss of water supply and pressure.
F. Todd Weston is an experienced trial attorney and trusted counsel for insurance carriers and institutions in Alabama and Mississippi. Previously with an international insurance firm in Chicago, Todd now makes Alabama his home and serves his clients here in the South.
About Christian & Small
Christian & Small LLP represents a diverse clientele throughout Alabama, the Southeast, and the nation with clients ranging from individuals and closely held businesses to Fortune 500 corporations. By matching highly experienced lawyers with specific client needs, Christian & Small develops innovative, effective, and efficient solutions for clients. With offices in Birmingham, metro-Jackson, Mississippi, and the Alabama Gulf Coast, Christian & Small focuses on the areas of litigation and business, is a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms, and is a Mansfield Rule™ Participating Law Firm. Our corporate social responsibility program is focused on education, and diversity is one of Christian & Small’s core values. Please visit www.csattorneys.com for more information.
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