Premises Liability

SFFD Fine Against Property Owner Points to Example of When Seemingly Minor Infraction Can Lead to Major Disaster

September 12, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

In the scheme of things, a fine or a single building code violation leveled against a landlord may not seem to be mean much to the layman, and there are plenty of responsible property owners who will properly attend to remediating the cause of the fine or violation. However, as San Francisco landlord-tenant law attorney Gregory J. Brod would point out, sometimes even a seemingly minor infraction can be the basis for a major incident.

That was the case, it turns out, with respect to at least one property in San Francisco recently. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Fire Department issued two citations to a company that owns a Civic Center property in which the sprinkler system was improperly removed. The Build Group, Inc., of San Francisco was fined $1,000 for removing or disabling sprinklers at the former Renoir Hotel, which was consumed in a big fire August 4 that injured seven construction workers.

Build Group has been managing a $30 million renovation of the closed Renoir Hotel, which is slated to become a “high-end boutique hotel with 135 rooms,” two restaurants, a conference center and a rooftop bar, according to the company’s website. Construction work at the seven-story, 83,300-square-foot building has included seismic upgrades as well as remodeling.

The fire occurred when a spark, ember or flame from a welding torch spread from the second-floor crawl space and throughout the building at 45 McAllister St, according to SFFD spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge.

The SFFD issued Build Group a second $1,000 citation for removing the sprinkler system at another one of its construction sites, this one at 218 Buchanan St. Talmadge said that the company was instructed to leave the sprinkler systems at both of it sites intact.

Build Group, however, is appealing the citations because it believes it was following SFFD instructions and that it “never received a directive instructing the company to not remove fire sprinklers.”

One thing that is quite clear it that the SFFD believes that bringing the fire under control at the former Renoir Hotel would have been a much easier task had the sprinklers been in place, according to Talmadge. And since that is what sprinkler systems are designed for, the Fire Department’s assessment is not an unreasonable one.

Municipalities have building codes, fire regulations and other safety-related ordinances for a very valid reason: to help safeguard the lives and protect from harm the people who live or work in and visit their city. A seemingly minor infraction can, if not adequately addressed by a landlord, lead to unnecessary injuries or even deaths. In addition, a violation of the so-called implied warranty of habitability, a fundamental concept of landlord-tenant law that, under California law, mandates that every tenant has the right to a habitable unit, can be the basis for a tenant pursuing legal action against the landlord.
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California Attorney on Hotel Pools and Civil Liability

August 8, 2014 | Gregory J. Brod

August is often a time for family vacations, with parents squeezing in travel before the school year starts again (although some schools now start in early August!). For many people, the hotel pool is the first stop after they drop their bags in their rooms and parents often struggle to get kids to wait that long! Hotel pools are often filled with laughter and the site of long-lasting, happy memories. Unfortunately, however, hotel pool drowning is a real danger. While we hope that one day the service is no longer needed, until that day we will proudly serve drowning victims and their families as a Northern California pool injury law firm.

Heroic Passerby Pulls Family Out of Hotel Pool, But Outlook for Victims Unclear

The headline of an NBC Los Angeles article told an amazing part of the story: “Man Learns CPR, Rescues Family Week Later at Motel Pool.” According to the report, an 11 year old boy and 12 year old girl were playing in a motel pool when they wandered into deep water on Monday. Their mother instinctively jumped in to help, but neither she nor her children could swim. A Good Samaritan heard their screams, scaled a fence, pulled all three out of the pool, and began CPR until emergency personnel arrived. The man had only learned CPR the week before.

Theatre Collapses Injures Dozens, Investigator Say No Criminal Liability

December 20, 2013 | Gregory J. Brod

Part of the domed ceiling at the historic Apollo Theater in Central London crashed down onto onlookers during a packed performance. The collapse occurred during an evening performance of the hugely popular play called, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. In the middle of the performance debris from the century old building showered the 700 theatergoers. “We heard a creak, somebody screamed, somebody from over there said, ‘Look out!’ and then the ceiling kind of creased in the middle and then just collapsed,” a witness reports. A 10-meter-by-10-meter square section of the ceiling fell, and a portion of the balcony was taken out by the force of the square. Onlookers initially thought the dramatics were a part of the play, or even sound effects. A cloud of thick dust came down making it hard to see. And, the reality of the situation immediately set in on the theatergoers.

Firefighters and rescue personnel were able to remove all 720 people from inside the West End of the theater. Approximately 80 people were injured with head trauma, broken bones, cuts and contusions. Many of the injured were able to be treated at the scene, while dozens were taken to nearby hospitals. Nine people were seriously hurt in the collapse, and three injured people had to be rescued by firefighters because they were trapped under debris. Fortunately none of the injuries were life-threatening.

No Criminal Liability