ImperialValleyLiving.Com

March 19, 2009

By Patrick Heald

The Planters Hotel in Brawley the day after a fire ripped through the structure. Now a civil lawsuit will determine if the owner can collect on the insurance Laura Popejoy Photos


Just over two years ago, the Planters Hotel in Brawley was destroyed by fire. Investigators later determined it was arson, making the fire one of the largest property crimes in the history of Imperial County. No one has ever been charged in the case. Now a civil suit here in Imperial County will determine whether or not the owner of the hotel will get an insurance settlement for his losses. Attorneys for both sides will square off in an El Centro courtroom today.

Court documents in the federal lawsuit also reveal that two Brawley firefighters had conducted an inspection of the hotel the day before the fire, and that they discovered the water to the sprinkler system was shut off.

The fire, which occurred in the early morning hours of March 7, 2007, gutted the historic hotel. It was determined to be a total loss and was demolished.

There is also a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Diego County regarding insurance compensation for the fire. ImperialValleyLiving.com has obtained copies of both lawsuits.

The supporting documentation in the lawsuits details circumstances that doomed the hotel once the fire started.

According to documents contained in the federal lawsuit, including a summary of the investigation into the cause of the Planters' Fire by the Brawley Fire Department, investigators determined that arson was the cause of the blaze.

The report cited the fact that another fire was in progress at a restaurant called Mamma Maggies that night. That fire had started just minutes before the Planter's building started to burn. Mamma Maggies was located about a mile away from the hotel. The report also states that investigators used a specially trained dog called an Accelerant Detection Dog to determine that an accelerant (such as gasoline) was used to start a fire in at least one location at the Planters Hotel.

The court documents also state that the hotel's sprinkler system had been shut off before the fire, and that the Brawley Fire Department knew about the status of the hotel's sprinkler system the day before the fire. Court documents in the federal lawsuit also reveal that two Brawley firefighters had conducted an inspection of the hotel the day before the fire, and that was when they discovered the water to the sprinkler system was shut off.

According to the write up of the investigation by Capt. Mark Franks of the Brawley Fire Department, after the fire, several points of origin were discovered when investigators began looking into possible causes of the fire. Investigators found that the “control valve (to the sprinkler system) was in the closed position, and was not secured with the required padlock and chain.”

Now the owner of the Planters Hotel, P. Allen Early and the Allen Early 1998 Family Trust, are suing Chubb Custom Insurance Company, the insurance carrier for the building. The hotel was insured for $3.1 million. Early is asking for that amount and other compensation as well. Chubb Custom claims the fire suppression system in the hotel was not adequatley maintained, as called for in the policy.

The company has only paid out $129,139 on the claim so far. Chubb Custom's attorney, Elizabeth Smith-Chavez, of the law firm Seltzer, Caplan, McMahon Vitek says that money was to cover cleanup and security costs at the site after the fire.

Attorney Peter Ward, of the legal firm of Ward and Hagen, is representing Early. He said Early didn't know that the main water valve to the system was shut off, and that Chubb should honor the terms of the policy.

“Mr. Early has sworn and given testimony and confirmed that he didn't turn it off,” Ward said. “Nobody at his direction turned it off. He has no idea who turned it off, other than it must have been done very shortly before the fire. We have argued to Chubb that Mr. Early didn't do this, he doesn't know who did it, it was beyond his control to stop or change the outcome of this.”

Smith-Chavez said the insurance policy is clear about maintaining the fire suppression system.

“There was an insurance policy issued by Chubb Custom Insurance Company that had a provision that required the insured to maintain the sprinkler system in complete working order,” Smith-Chavez said. “At the time of the fire the sprinkler system was turned off , and it is Chubb's position that a minimum, maintaining it in complete working order means having it turned on, otherwise there's no way it can work and it accomplishes nothing. The policy says it is the insured's responsibility to maintain it in complete working order , and whether or not he knew it was turned off, he was the one in control of the situation.”

According to the court documents, there is no record of the system being shut off. But the court documents confirm that the Brawley Fire Department knew the water valve was shut off the day before the fire.

A letter identified as exhibit C in the federal lawsuit details how the Brawley Fire Department discovered the water valve was shut off. It is addressed to Detective Johnathan Blackstone of the Brawley Police Department, and was written by Capt. Jesse Zendejas of the Brawley Fire Department. The subject line reads "Discovery of Fire Sprinkler System at the Planters Hotel being shut down" and is dated April 13, 2007, just over a month after the fire.

Zendejas was inspecting the premises because a new business called the Planters Bar was opening in the first floor of the building. That inspection took place on Feb. 15, 2007. Zendejas noted several minor issues that needed to be corrected. The owners of the business agreed to make the corrections. It's not clear whether Mr. Early was made aware of the results of that first inspection.

On March 6, the day before the fire, Zendejas went to re-inspect the facility to follow up on the corrections. It was during that inspection that Zendejas noticed that there were fire suppression sprinkler heads in the building, which was not noted in the first inspection. He then asked to see the sprinkler system main valve.

Zendejas indicated he was shown to the basement of the hotel, where he said he observed that the sprinkler system was shut off.

Zendejas also wrote in the report that he pointed out the valve that was shut off to another firefighter who accompanied him on the inspection.

“I noticed that the ... fixture had a gauge that indicated a pressure of 0. I also noticed that the ... main valve which was of the outside yoke and stem type (OS&Y) appeared to be in the closed position," Zendejas wrote in his report.

Zendejas also wrote in the report that he pointed out the valve that was shut off to another firefighter who accompanied him on the inspection. He added that he did not turn the valve back on because "a leak or a break in the system may cause damage to someone's business within the hotel. The system's integrity may have been compromised, and that may have been the reason for the shut down. I could not take any chances."

According to the letter, Zendejas then went back to the Brawley fire station and informed Brawley Fire Chief Frank Contreras that the main water valve of the fire suppression system in the Planters Hotel was shut off. Zendejas writes that Contreras asked him and other firefighters present if anyone was aware of the fire suppression sprinkler system being shut down. Zendejas replied that he had not been aware of the situation at the hotel, and noted that other firefighters present during the discussion said they were not aware of the situation either.

According to his letter, Zendejas wrote “Chief Contreras stated that he would be looking into the matter from the owner of the Planter's Hotel. He (Contreras) gave me the impression that he would be looking into the matter the very next day. At the time I guess, we believed the very next day would be soon enough to look into the matter. In hind sight, it turned out to be too late.”

Smith-Chavez says the inspection before the fire, and the investigation after the fire, support the insurance company's claim that the system was not operable when the fire started.

“One, there was an inspection the afternoon before the fire by Capt. Jesse Zendejas of the Brawley Fire Department, and he wrote a memo, and it seems to be undisputed that he saw the system was shut off,” said Smith- Chavez. “Right after the fire, as soon as the arson investigation team was able to get into the basement, they saw that it was still turned off. So we know that it was turned off just before the fire. We know it was turned off just after the fire. There's no evidence that the arsonist turned it off.”

But Early's attorney Peter Ward says Early honored the terms of the policy regarding maintaining the sprinkler system.

“We have argued to Chubb Insurance ...that the sprinkler systems did not fail because of lack of maintenance,” Ward said. “There was no amount of maintenance that would have prevented the sprinkler system from being inoperable that night”.

Today's hearing is on a motion for summary judgment filed by Chubb Insurance, effectively asking the court to dismiss the case. If it is not dismissed, the civil suit in Imperial County is set to go to a jury trial on July 22.