New England insurance company brings subrogation lawsuit against Paccaar
The insurance company argued that the defendants were negligent and are liable for the $170,000 policy paid to the insured for the damages caused by a fire, the complaint said.
Arbella Mutual Insurance Co. filed a subrogation lawsuit against Paccaar Inc., Gabrielli Kenworth of CT LLC and other defendants over a fire ignited in a truck allegedly due to mechanics’ negligence.
This complaint was surfaced on Law.com Radar.
The insured, Vincent Cahill & Sons Excavating, owned a 2011 Kenworth T270 truck and had an insurance policy through Arbella, the complaint said.
On Dec. 29, 2022, a fire started inside the truck, which damaged the vehicle and the building owned by the insured, court records show.
In 2021, Gabrielli Kenworth, Tri-state Diesel Inc., Tri-state Kenworth LLC and Avaiant Truck Centers Inc. were hired “to perform preventative maintenance and diagnostic testing,” the complaint said.
The defendants allegedly did not install a blower motor properly, which caused it to be defective and dangerous. The insurance company argued that the defendants were negligent, and are liable for the $170,000 policy paid to the insured for the damages, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff also brought claims of breach of contract against the defendants, stating that they were “responsible for identifying, warning of, and repairing … dangerous defective conditions present within the Kenworth truck,” the court document said.
In addition, Arbella brought product liability claims against Paccaar, which “designed, manufactured, engineered, fabricated, assembled, distributed, supplied, installed, sold and/or otherwise placed into the stream of commerce” the parts in the engine compartment of the insured’s truck, the complaint said.
“The unreasonably dangerous and defective condition of the Kenworth truck existed at the time it left the hands of the defendant Paccaar,” the complaint said.
The plaintiff claimed Paccaar is liable and legally responsible for the damage caused by the truck because Paccaar created the product, did not provide adequate warnings or safeguards, and failed to recall the components that were a fire hazard, the complaint said.
The insurance company wants the court to order the defendants to pay for the $170,000 policy, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff is represented by Timothy R. Scannell and Christina S. Cassidy of Boyle Shaughnessy Law. Cassidy declined to comment.
Counsel for the defendants has not appeared yet, and Kenworth and Paccaar media contacts did not respond to requests for comment.
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Read the complaint:
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