Neighbour taking friend to court

[Clappingforjoy]

My friend had a fire in his garden last April and it caused damage to some neighbouring gardens especially the one neighbour. My friend didn't and still doesnt know how it started so that remains a mystery and the fire brigade could only say that it started in our garden but they didnt know how.
Now several months later we have been made aware that the neighbour that suffered the most damage is taking him to court and is getting all the others on his side and got witness statements off them and gave them to his solicitor to say my friend was burning rubbish the day before he denies this and says the only thing he did was get a weed burner out from his shed st the side of the house and take it to the front garden to burn weeds then he put it back ensuring it was out.
After this he went out and on arriving home abt an hour later the fire had already started way at the bottom of the garden far from the side shed.
His son was there and had noticed the fire from his bedroom window and had already called the fire brigade.
All neighbours have since few months ago had all repairs done so I can only think they are claiming for thier excess.
What should he do friend is dismissing saying he is totally innocent and despite the fact he has a burner he hadnt used it for several weeks but claims he has smelt burning before from somebody else's garden in the past and there is no proof of anything except probably some made up statements from neighbours trying to get money.

OP, I'm not sure what you want from this thread. Your Ex is now in a legal dispute about costs of damage caused by a fire that started in his garden.

There is nothing you can do.
There is nothing Mnetters can do.
It will be sorted by the insurance companies and courts. Your Ex will just have to go through the process.

I don’t understand why you’re going on about financial ruin if he was insured?

The liability rests with your friend as the fire started in his garden. I wouldn’t bother refuting that as the Fire Brigade will have more of an idea than your friend.

Neighbours claim off their insurers who, in turn, claim the money back from your friends insurer. Your friend may have to pay the excess on his policy if there is one.

Everyone gets their fence repaired and case is closed. Why has it got so complicated?

This would be perfect for Judge Rinder! He would get to the bottom of this, Op.

Well I know he wont admit any liability because he doesnt know how it started and if he did then his own insurance could come after him as well

This is his problem - his neighbours dont want there insurance premiums affected by something that wasnt there fault. They want his insurance to pay. They wont because he wont admit liability.

It has gotten complicated because rather than accept a slightly higher premium he wants to fight it

WHAT HAVE THE INSURANCE COMPANY SAID

Clappingforjoy Fri 17-Jan-20 11:08:08 Well the neighbour is going on abt his bin burner and isnt saying anything abt the weedburner

You are WAY over invested in your 'friend's' situation OP. Your friend has a bin burner and a weedburner one of which he seems to have used on the day of the fire. I don't own and have actually never seen or even heard of either of those before and I think the same would be true of most people. So given the fact that your friend has 2 items he uses to burn things in the garden and he used one on the day of the fire it seems reasonable to me that he was responsible for the fire.

You're saying 'act of nature' could have started the fire by solar panels reflecting light onto dry grass or something well if that was the case and the grass was so dry then why on earth was your 'friend' using a weed burner that day?

You need to step back OP and let your 'friend', his insurance and his solicitor sort this out.

Surely if you your friend, has insurance, no-one will be financially ruined?

Perhaps the fire started because a phoenix landed in the garden?

Of course it was the 'friend's' burner.

Pretty sure solar panels are designed to tolerate the sun shining on them without bursting into flames...

he did then his own insurance could come after him as well

Insurance doesnt work like that. You pay an insurance company so when you screw up, they sort it out for you.

Insurance is an incredible thing

Seems a lot of people have little or no understanding of how insurance and liability works.

Take, for example, a roof tile being blown off your house roof and smashing through neighbour's car's roof.

It seems that a lot of MNers are convinced that your buildings insurance would pay for that. They would be surprised in many cases...

That's what they tell you, Confuddledtown

But the truth could be different.

What has the insurance company said? Because that will be all you need to know!

Have you been split up for long? You seem awfully invested in this and he's a grown man, with insurance. I don't get what you can do for him on this really?

Heeheheehheehehheee

I'm guessing what has happened here is that the insurance company have said they won't pay out as it was a foreseeable circumstance that the weed burner might start a fire. Therefore, his insurance won't cover it, but his neighbours' insurance companies are suing him. Since the insurance company won't pay out, it will lead to financial ruin for the OP's ex which means he won't be able to pay maintenance to her anymore which will mean financial ruin for her - hence her vested interest in the firestarter.

On the theme of exes and fires........ I'll just leave this with you OP

He needs to read his insurance policy to see what it says about fire. Lol they have quite a lot of get-out-clauses! That's of course assuming he hasn't already spoken to them (you've given 2 contradictory statements about that).

I think we’ve missed out here!
Our next door neighbours shed caught fire and the whole of the side of our house when yup with it.
We just claimed off our own insurance and they paid out no problems

Clappingforjoy Today at 12.15 posts
People are getting stupid now

You can’t argue with Stupid.

Sorry I mean you can’t argue with Stupid’s friend

It was the 18 year old's fault I think. He reported the fire. Hmmm.

I did not make my washing machine leak, not responsible in any way for the machine malfunctioning but I paid for the damage to the downstairs flat
End of
Pay up, and sell burny things on eBay to cover loss

@DowntownAbby

Every insurance policy i have ever had would cover that. It comes under your liability as owner of the property. Double check your policy documents

It was the 18 year old's fault I think. He reported the fire. Hmmm.

Quite right MaisWee

It comes under the general Principle of the "He who smelt it, dealt it" Law (1879; extended to cover "He who said it, was the one who did* it" (1982) and the "The wan was seein 'it, was the wan who was daein' it" (Scottish High Court Judgement, 2018))

*Permitted by the Assonance Amendment of 1943

Is this him burning weeds?

@bongsuhan

Come on. That was clearly caused by solar panels or solar lights or whatever...

Well I know he wont admit any liability because he doesnt know how it started and if he did then his own insurance could come after him as well

This makes me strongly suspect your friend hasn't given his insurance details to his neighbour's.

For your friend, that would come under the heading 'accepting liability'.

And, nine times out of ten, that would have been the end of the matter.

Going to court is pricey - most people would just hope their insurance covers it and let it go: higher premiums and all.

However, it looks like the neighbour's insurance company isn't letting it go.

Either they are refusing to pay out or they are insisting on your friend being liable.

If he had passed the insurance details on, this would all be dealt with between insurance companies.

The dispute would actually have arrived in the form of him arguing with his insurance company as to his liability.

The fact that it hasn't taken this form - and has taken the form of potential court proceedings. Undertaken by the neighbour or the neighbour's insurance company - suggests your friend did not pass his insurance details to his neighbour.

It also suggests that, if he went so far as to claim his own insurance for damage, he withheld information (that Fire Brigade incident report) from his insurers.

Though my guess is that he didn't notify his insurance company at all.

'Liability' isn't the same thing as consciously setting out to raze your neighbours' gardens.

I think his determination to avoid higher insurance premiums may well prove to be an object lesson in why you take out insurance in the first place.

Well I know he wont admit any liability because he doesnt know how it started and if he did then his own insurance could come after him as well

Guys, top tip - if you murder someone DO NOT admit it. Otherwise the police will come after you as well. So don't admit it - it's the perfect legal loophole.