1. Case Overview

A. The Party Represented by Barun Law: Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. (Plaintiff)

B. Background of the Case: The plaintiff's insured was a building owner who suffered damages such as the complete destruction of their building caused by a fire that broke out during welding work at an adjacent construction site. After paying the insured compensation for the damage, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant, seeking damages based on vicarious liability and other grounds. The plaintiff assessed the damages through a damage adjuster but did not conduct court appraisal procedures during the lawsuit.

C. Litigation Details: In this case, we argued through fire investigation reports that the fire was caused by the negligence of the defendant's employees. The defendant argued that the damages were excessively assessed or that damages could not be recognized without a court appraisal (though the defendant did not separately request a court appraisal). We emphasized that the damage assessment conducted by the damage adjuster was based on appraisal evaluation rules and that its objectivity and reasonableness were recognized. We further argued that if there is objective evidence for damage assessment, it is not necessarily required to conduct court appraisal for damages to be recognized.

2. Judgement: Partial victory for the plaintiff (The Seoul Central District Court recognized most of the plaintiff's claims, acknowledging damage liability amounting to approximately KRW800 million.)

3. Basis of the Judgment: The court recognized that the defendant's employees failed to exercise the necessary care in the welding work and ruled that the defendant did not exercise sufficient care in supervising its employees. Consequently, the court acknowledged the defendant's liability for damages. Furthermore, the court judged that the damage assessment by the plaintiff's damage adjuster was based on specific data, with a valid calculation method and high credibility, and recognized the plaintiff's claimed amount of damages. However, the court applied partial contributory negligence to the damages in accordance with the Act on Liability for Fire Damage.

4. Our Arguments and Role: Considering the special nature of the fire incident, we built specific and systematic arguments and evidence regarding the cause of the fire based on various materials, including fire investigation reports. We succeeded in having the defendant's liability for damages recognized and in having the damages recognized based on the damage adjuster's report without court appraisal, enabling the dispute to be resolved promptly.

5. Significance of the Decision: This decision can serve as a reference for similar cases involving damage claims arising from fires. Notably, it demonstrates that damages can be recognized without court appraisal, helping to shorten the time required for resolution, especially in cases where prompt compensation is necessary.

- Attorney involved: Park Sang-oh