Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Associate Daniel Reisner, with support from Partners Gregg Minkin and James DeBartolo, successfully obtained a defense verdict following an arbitration in Pennsylvania state court on behalf of an air conditioner manufacturer and distributor.
The plaintiff, a subrogated insurance company, filed claims in Pennsylvania state court for negligence, strict products liability, and breach of warranty, alleging that a defective air conditioner unit caused a fire in its insured’s building, which was being leased by a food stand operator.
The GRSM team conducted an extensive investigation of the fire, participating in multiple lab examinations and reviewing fire scene photographs from the plaintiff’s experts and the fire department. The GRSM team also worked with its electrical engineering and fire cause and origin experts to develop conclusive evidence that the fire did not start at the air conditioner.
During the arbitration, Reisner’s thorough, relentless cross-examination left no doubt that the plaintiff’s fire cause and origin expert was unqualified and completely undermined his speculative conclusions, leaving GRSM’s electrical engineering expert’s testimony that the air conditioner exhibited no evidence of internal failure and did not cause the fire uncontested. Based on the testimony, the arbitration panel agreed that the plaintiff could not establish that the air conditioner started the fire and rendered a complete defense verdict.
This result underscores the strength of GRSM’s Product Liability team and their unwavering commitment to securing successful outcomes for their clients.