There's the rub. If the defendant in a negligence case pays his client a million bucks to settle it, then it's hard for the court to rule the defendant was negligent. But it's hard to maintain with a straight face that he was not negligent.
There will be very few court "decisions" regarding a fire investigator's negligence, because such cases typically settle. I know of a few where that was the case. Typically, such settlements are "sealed."
The only place we can look for court "decisions" is in Daubert Challenges. There is an extensive body of law wherein courts have recognized NFPA 921 as the standard of care, starting with the following cases:
TRAVELERS PROPERTY & CASUALTY CORP. VS. GE District of Connecticut 150 F. Supp. 2d 360; 57 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. (Callaghan) 695; CCH Prod. Liab. Rep. P16,181; 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14395.
CHESTER VALLEY COACH WORKS VS. FISHER-PRICE, INC., Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15902.
SNODGRASS VS. FORD MOTOR COMPANY DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13421.
ROYAL INSURANCE CO. OF AMERICA VS. JOSEPH DANIEL CONSTRUCTION Southern District of New York, 208 F. Supp. 2d 423; 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12397
UTAH VS. TROY LYNN SCHULTZ 2002 UT App 366; 58 P.3d 879; 460 Utah Adv. Rep. 21; 2002 Utah App. LEXIS 112.
MCCOY VS. WHIRLPOOL CORP., District of Kansas2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6901.
TUNNELL VS. FORD MOTOR CO. Western District of Virginia 330 F. Supp. 2d 707; 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24594.
IND. INS. CO. VS. GE, Northern District of Ohio 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13400.
TNT RD. CO. VS. STERLING TRUCK CORP. District of Maine 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13463.
ABON, LTD. VS. TRANSCONTINENTAL INS. CO., Ohio Court of Appeals 2005 Ohio 3052; 2005 Ohio App. LEXIS 2847.
WORKMAN VS. AB ELECTROLUX CORP. District of Kansas 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16306.
In every one of these cases, the court compared the investigator's methodology to NFPA 921. As a rule, if the investigator followed 921, his testimony was allowed, and if he did not, it was excluded. You can argue nuances and subtleties, but that's the general thrust of the cases, and of their numerous progeny,
John Lentini, CFI, D-ABC
Fire Investigation Consultant
Florida Keys
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