PITTSBURGH – The insurer on the hook for a fire caused by a neglected deep fryer is suing a Pennsylvania youth football association to recover what it spent.
The federal lawsuit, filed July 31 in Pittsburgh, names the East Allegheny Youth Football Association as a defendant and blames it for an Oct. 5 blaze, caught on camera here. CM Regent Insurance Company has paid $110,000 to repair a concession stand and replace damaged items.
Now, it wants that money back. It says, “based on eyewitness accounts,” that the deep fryer had been turned on by a member of the football association who then left the kitchen to “perform other activities.”
The fire occurred at Churchman Stadium in North Versaille at East Allegheny Junior/Senior High School. CM Regent is the school district’s insurer.
“The defendant had a duty to exercise proper caution while using inherently dangerous cooking equipment such as a deep fryer and to ensure that their use of such equipment would not cause harm to property or others,” the suit says.
“The defendant failed to exercise the appropriate caution, and as a result the subject fire occurred.”
The suit makes claims for negligence and breach of contract and was filed by Dennis Crawford of Audubon, N.J. It seeks an amount in excess of $110,000. The fire caused East Allegheny Youth Football Association to cancel games in the aftermath and to solicit donations to replace uniforms and apparel, among other items.
No one was hurt in the fire. In addition to the money spent rebuilding the concession stand, CM Regent says it has paid out more than $300,000 on the insurance claim.
