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Acidental Fires Act 1943

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  • 31-10-2012 1:20am
    #1
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,387 ✭✭✭✭


    There is a thread over on Motors which addresses the issue of legal liability in the case of a car fire in a shopping centre. A car went on fire and the car next door caught fire and was destroyed but the insurance company of the first car's owner is denying liability to the owner of the second car on the basis of the Accidental Fires Act 1943.

    My reading of the act is that it protects the owner of land or a building from a clam arising from accidental damage caused by a fire which occurred on their premises but in this situation I can't see that it protects the owner of the car which went on fire.

    Comments welcome, the thread on motors (link below) has more details but above is the gist of the event.

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056794546

    The act itself is relatively short. My interpretation is based on the fact that the first subsection refers to 'the building or land of another person' and (a) refers to 'such other person' and not 'any other person'......

    1.—(1) Where any person (in this section referred to as the injured person) has suffered damage by reason of fire accidentally occurring (whether before or after the passing of this Act) in or on the building or land of another person, then, notwithstanding any rule of law, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

    (a) no legal proceedings shall, after the passing of this Act, be instituted in any court by the injured person or any person claiming through or under him or as his insurer against such other person on account of such damage;

    (b) if, in case the fire occurred before the passing of this Act, any such legal proceedings were instituted after the 16th day of November, 1942, and before the passing of this Act, and are pending at such passing, such legal proceedings shall be discharged and made void, subject to such order as to costs as the court in which such legal proceedings are pending or a judge thereof thinks fit to make.

    (2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) of this section shall be construed as affecting legal proceedings for the enforcement of any covenant or agreement contained in any lease or letting of a building or land.

    (3) In this section the word “building” includes any structure of whatsoever material or for whatever purpose used.

    http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1943/en/act/pub/0008/print.html


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