East Coast Collision & Restoration, Inc. v. Robert Allyn et al.

Negligence - Fire - Landlord and Tenant - In 1987, East Coast Collision and Restoration, Inc. (tenant)
leased a building in Exeter, Rhode Island, from the owners, who
had constructed the building to the tenant's specifications, to
use as the site of the tenant's auto body repair business. Rather
than hiring a general contractor to oversee construction of the
building, the owners hired the necessary contractors for each
phase of the construction. About eighteen months after the tenant
occupied the building, the owners constructed an addition to the
building, which the tenant occupied for the same purposes.

Electrical problems began after the tenant moved into the
original building, including dimmed and flickering lights,
tripped circuit breakers, and electrical shocks received from
touching the steel railing of a garage door. There was also a
fire in the main fuse panel. The tenant told Vanderpyl of the
problems, and the fuse panel was repaired, but the other problems
continued. The tenant was unaware of any actions that were taken
to correct them. On February 11, 1990, a fire broke out,
completely destroying the premises, including vehicles and
equipment owned by the tenant.

On June 27, 1991, the tenant filed a complaint in Superior
Court, alleging that the owners negligently maintained, repaired,
and operated the premises and that this negligence resulted in
the fire that caused damages to the tenant. At a jury> trial held
in January 1998, a number of experts testified about the cause of
the fire. Deputy State Fire Marshal Gerald Leddy testified that a
malfunction in the wiring most probably caused the short circuit
that started the fire, although he was unable to identify what
caused the malfunction. Another expert testifying on behalf of
the tenant stated that he believed damaged insulation on a wire
caused the fire and that the insulation was most likely damaged
at the time of installation by either an electrician or a
carpenter. The owners presented two witnesses who were unable to
identify the cause of the fire.

At the close of evidence, the trial justice instructed the
jury on several issues that are in dispute in this appeal. The
jury was instructed that it should determine whether the owners
were general contractors, and if they were, whether they
constructed the building in a non-negligent fashion by requiring
work to be done safely. The trial justice also instructed the
jury on causation and additionally instructed that the lease
could provide evidence that the owners had the duty to maintain
the electrical system.

Plaintiff's verdict for unknown amount.

Gerald Leddy, Deputy State Fire Marshal, Rhode Island

Unknown

Reversed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. See: ___ A.2d ___ (R.I. 1999). Note: The above date reflects the appellate court decision date, not the original trial date. Reported by kkm.