Hot Topics

Arson

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Arson – Part II (Autumn 2009)

Arson: The Process of Elimination (Editorial — Winter/Spring 2009)

State of Connecticut v. Beavers, 2009 WL 294364 (Conn. 2009): Expert’s Opinion that Defendant Committed Arson was Not Based on Scientific Analysis, Invaded Province of Jury, and Therefore, was Improperly Admitted (Winter/Spring 2009)

Arson – Part I (Winter/Spring 2009)

Don’t Get Burned Twice – The Arson Checklist (Autumn 2007)

Case Studies

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Fire Modeling Generally Accepted in Fire Investigation Community? Not Yet According to New York Supreme Court — Santos v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, _N.Y.S.2d_, 2010 WL 2610656 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2010) (Autumn 2010)

American Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Golke, 319 Wis.2d 397, 768 N.W.2d 729 (WI. 2009): Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds that Party Had Discharged the Duty to Preserve Evidence (Summer 2010)

Arson – Part II (Autumn 2009)

Allstate Insurance Company a/s/o Thomas Lothridge v. Gonyo, 2009 WL 1212481 (N.D.N.Y. 2009): Lack of Strict Adherence to NFPA 921 Does Not Warrant Preclusion, But Leaves Open Questions (Autumn 2009)

The People of the State of New York v. James Richardson, 2008 WL 4425918 (N.Y.A.D. 3rd Dept., Oct. 2, 2008): Experts’ Failure to Eliminate all Potential Ignition Sources Results in Overturned Arson and Fraud Convictions in New York (Winter/Spring 2009)

Exculpation of Your Product at the Fire Scene: A Case Study (Summer 2008)

Hartford Insurance Co, v. General Electric Co., 2007 WL 4299793 (D.R.I.) (Dec. 7, 2007): Where There’s Water There’s Fire (Winter/Spring 2008)

Reconstructing the Fire Scene, Filling Information Gaps with Visual Forensics: A Case Study (Winter/Spring 2008)

Turner v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 2007 WL 2713062 (N.D. Ohio 2007): National Institute of Standards & Technology Fire Dynamics Simulator Software Survives Daubert Challenge in Ohio (Autumn 2007)

Truck Insurance Exchange v. Magnetek, Inc., 360 F.3d 1206 (2004): The Tenth Circuit’s Analysis of a Questionable Fire Causation Theory (DRI Newsletter: Products Liability Committee)

Electrical Fires

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The Neon Sign Fire (Summer 2006)

Starting and Charging Electrical Circuits (Spring 2006)

The Myth of Old Wiring (Spring 2006)

Heavy Equipment, Electrical Circuits and Fires (Winter 2005-2006)

Experts

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$ubrogation: Increasing Your Bottom Line (Editorial — Summer 2010)

Choosing The Right Attorneys And Experts For Your Fire Litigation (Corporate Counsel)

The Daubert Series: Part IV, The Hearing (Summer 2007)

The Daubert Series: Part III, Supplementing the Expert Report (Spring 2007)

The Daubert Series: Part II, The Expert Deposition (Winter 2007)

The Daubert Series: Part I (Fall 2006)

The Testifying Investigator – Part II, The Expert Report (Spring 2007)

The Testifying Investigator – Part I, The Fire Scene Examination (Winter 2007)

Fire Science Investigation

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Improving the Understanding of Post-Flashover Fire Behavior (Summer 2011)

Ventilation-Controlled Fires (Editorial — Summer 2011)

Investigation of an Elevated Fire — Perspectives on the ‘Z-Factor’ (Summer 2011)

Progressive Burn Pattern Development in Post-Flashover Fires (Summer 2011)

The Consequences of Not Inviting a Manufacturer to the Fire Scene (Autumn 2010)

Spoliation at the Fire Scene (Summer 2010)

Information Sharing Bolsters Anti-Fraud Efforts: A Win-Win Situation (Summer 2010)

Exculpating Your Product at the Fire Scene (Summer 2008)

Reconstructing the Fire Scene, Filling Information Gaps with Visual Forensics: A Case Study (Winter/Spring 2008)

Ignitable Liquid Detection Canines and the Fire Scene Investigation (Winter/Spring 2008)

CFI Trainer.Net (Editorial — Autumn 2007)

A Second Opinion (Editorial — Autumn 2007)

The Eyewitness – Not to be Unnoticed (Summer 2007)

Deep Pocket Blues (Editorial — Summer 2007)

Total Burns (Winter 2007)

Management of the Investigation Process at Major Incidents (Fall 2006)

The Pitfalls, Perils, and Reasoning Fallacies of Determining the Fire Cause in the Absence of Proof: The Negative Corpus Methodology (Summer 2006)

Forensic Tools

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Improving the Understanding of Post-Flashover Fire Behavior (Summer 2011)

Ventilation-Controlled Fires (Editorial — Summer 2011)

Investigation of an Elevated Fire — Perspectives on the ‘Z-Factor’ (Summer 2011)

Progressive Burn Pattern Development in Post-Flashover Fires (Summer 2011)

Fire Modeling Generally Accepted in Fire Investigation Community? Not Yet According to New York Supreme Court — Santos v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, _N.Y.S.2d_, 2010 WL 2610656 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2010) (Autumn 2010)

Reconstructing the Fire Scene, Filling Information Gaps with Visual Forensics: A Case Study (Winter/Spring 2008)

Ignitable Liquid Detection Canines and the Fire Scene Investigation (Winter/Spring 2008)

Turner v. Liberty Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 2007 WL 2713062 (N.D.Ohio 2007): National Institute of Standards & Technology Fire Dynamics Simulator Software Survives Daubert Challenge in Ohio (Autumn 2007)

Optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy – Forensic Tools to Determine the Extent of Soot Migration in Residential Buildings (Spring 2007)

Passive Infrared Thermography – A Qualitative Method for Detecting Moisture Anomalies in Building Envelopes (Winter 2007)

General Liability

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To Remove or Not to Remove? The Strategic and Urgent Question (Summer 2011)

Allocation of Liability Insurance Coverage Over Multiple Policies (Summer 2011)

Connecticut Supreme Court Decision Limits “Mode of Operation” Rule (Autumn 2010)

Hazardous Materials

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NFPA 400 Hazardous Materials Code Project (Autumn 2007)

Control of Electrostatic Hazards – Containers for Powders (Winter 2005-2006)

Insurance Coverage

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Allocation of Liability Insurance Coverage Over Multiple Policies (Summer 2011)

Insurance Fraud

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The Innocent Co-Insured (Autumn 2010)

Information Sharing Bolsters Anti-Fraud Efforts: A Win-Win Situation (Summer 2010)

Product Defects

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The Consequences of Not Inviting a Manufacturer to the Fire Scene (Autumn 2010)

Exculpating Your Product at the Fire Scene (Summer 2008)

A Second Opinion (Editorial — Autumn 2007)

Deep Pocket Blues (Editorial — Summer 2007)

Truck Insurance Exchange v. Magnetek, Inc., 360 F.3d 1206 (2004): The Tenth Circuit’s Analysis of a Questionable Fire Causation Theory (DRI Newsletter: Products Liability Committee)

Spoliation

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Spoliation at the Fire Scene (Summer 2010)

American Family Mut. Ins. Co. v. Golke, 319 Wis.2d 397, 768 N.W.2d 729 (WI. 2009): Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds that Party Had Discharged the Duty to Preserve Evidence (Summer 2010)

Subrogation

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$ubrogation: Increasing Your Bottom Line (Editorial — Summer 2010)

Vehicle Fires

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Unlocking the Vehicle Fire Investigation (Winter/Spring 2008)

Hot Surface Ignition – Unraveling the Myths (Summer 2007)