Insurance
Home›Insurance›Liability Insurance›Eighth Circuit blocks Berkley from recovering $2.5 mil…
Eighth Circuit blocks Berkley from recovering $2.5 million on fan fire
The court ruled that Berkley could not show the alleged manufacturing defect existed when the ceiling fan left Broan-Nutone’s control, citing a more than decade gap between installation and the 2021 fire.
Insurance Business reports that the Eighth Circuit affirmed a ruling rejecting Berkley National Insurance Company’s bid to recover $2,549,713.32 it paid after a Broan-Nutone ceiling fan ignited a fire at a gas station bathroom. The dispute stemmed from a fire on November 20, 2021, at a restroom of a gas station owned by Lakes Community Cooperative. Berkley paid the claim, then sued Broan-Nutone as subrogee, arguing the blaze was caused by a manufacturing defect. In its effort to link the loss to a defect, Berkley presented an expert statement that the ignition source was heat produced within the fan motor winding, which then ignited nearby combustible materials, including electrical insulation and accumulated dust and lint. The expert also said a thermal protection device did not operate as intended and failed to disconnect electrical power before the windings overheated. The court said the case turned on timing under Minnesota law, which requires proof the manufacturing defect existed when the product left the manufacturer’s control. Because the fan had been installed before the Cooperative bought the store in 2009, the court found more than a ten-year interval created a substantial opportunity for mishandling or misuse, and the expert testimony did not supply admissible evidence that bridged the gap. The court also concluded that Berkley’s design-related arguments about dust buildup did not fit the manufacturing defect claim framework.