ARTICLE ID 28188
- PRODUCTS LIABILITY - ________ HYUNDAI EXCEL'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE IN DESIGN - FIRE ALLEGEDLY STARTS IN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - DESTRUCTION OF CARPORT AND RESIDENCE - HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE CARRIER ASSERTS SUBROGATION INTEREST.
U.S. District Court
This lawsuit arose out of a fire which commenced in the carport
area of the plaintiffs residence and spread to the main house,
resulting in the destruction of both the carport, the residence
and much of the contents. The plaintiffs alleged that the fire
started in the ________ Hyundai Excel, owned by Ken Davis, Jr., and
parked in the plaintiffs carport at the time of the fire. The
plaintiffs alleged that the cause of the fire was a defect in the
Excels electrical system. The defendant Hyundai denied liability
and contended that the fire was not attributable to a defect
in the ________ Hyundai Excel. The plaintiffs claimed a $________
subrogation interest. The plaintiffs claimed an additional
$________ in uninsured losses and personal injuries resulting from
the fire.
The fire began sometime during the evening of February 4, or in
the morning of February 5, in the carport area of the plaintiffs
home in Junction City, Oregon. The fire department was called at
approximately 5:50 A.M. on February 5, ________. By the time the fire
fighters arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. The
plaintiffs residence and its contents were a complete loss.
The plaintiffs residence was a two story residence with a large,
attached carport. At the time of the fire, there were three
vehicles owned by the plaintiffs and one vehicle (the ________ Excel)
parked in the McGarvey carport. On the evening of February 4, the
owner of the Excel, Mr. Davis, had pulled into the plaintiffs
carport experiencing car problems. He removed the battery from
the Excel and took it home to charge it. All of the vehicles were
destroyed in the fire.
The plaintiffs alleged that the burn patterns on the remains of
the carport indicated that the fire originated in the Excel. The
Oregon State Police Arson Investigator concluded that the
probable cause of the fire was an electrical short in the wiring
of the air conditioning system of the Excel which allegedly
ignited the carpet of the front passenger side of the Excel and
which, in turn, ignited the carport and residence. The battery of
the subject vehicle had been removed approximately ten hours
before the fire was discovered. The Arson Investigator concluded
that the fire had started before the battery had been removed
from the car and had smoldered overnight.
The plaintiffs liability experts testified that wires routed
over a brake cover abraded, eventually arcing, causing a shower p 7 3
of sparks to fall to the carpet padding, causing a fire to
smolder for ten hours before the fire erupted. The plaintiffs
called the Oregon State Police Arson Investigator to support
their theory.
The defendant Hyundai called an expert metallurgist who testified
that there was no arcing on the brake cover and that a fuse would
have blown, preventing any fire. This expert also testified that
the carpet and padding of the subject Excel were fire resistant
and would not have smoldered as claimed by the plaintiffs
experts.
Hyundai additionally called a fire origin expert who testified
that the carpet and padding of the Excel met all federal
requirements and that a more likely cause of the fire was arson.
Finally, Hyundai called an in-house engineer who testified that
the wiring in the Excel was properly routed and that the
electrical system in the Excel was properly designed.
The plaintiff wife claimed that her pre-existing lupus condition
was exacerbated by the fire and the plaintiff husband claimed
that his pre-existing heart condition was made worse by the fire.
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