Fourteen insurance companies are suing the U.S. Government for damages stemming from the wildfires that destroyed Gatlinburg in 2016. The lawsuit was filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act "for damages arising from the negligent acts or omissions on the part of employees or agents of the Department of the Interior and/or National Park Service in response to the Chimney Tops 2 Fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
According to court documents, the insurance companies are seeking no less than $200 million. Those court documents identify that the claims asserted by the insurance companies "arise out of certain actions, omissions, and otherwise negligent conduct by employees of the DOI and/or NPS, a component of the DOI and authorized agent of the USA, which resulted in, among other things, substantial property losses incurred by Plaintiffs' insureds."
Thus, the insurance companies are alleging incompetence on the part of government employees during the wildfire events, leading to the insured's loss of property.
Editor's Note: Earlier this year 88 plaintiffs filed suit seeking damages from the U.S. government after those same Gatlinburg wildfires. The plaintiffs all resided near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That lawsuit also alleged negligence on the part of the government employees. Those plaintiffs sought a collective $37,350,108 in compensatory damages.