Another key component of Tedford & Henry's fire science litigation practice is its involvement in arson and "intentional act" litigation. We have extensive experience in representing insurers in cases in which arson or an "intentional act"is a primary issue. Our involvement takes many forms, and ranges from conducting examinations under oath of insureds, to providing coverage opinions on the "intentional act" or fraud exclusions, to litigating bad faith claims brought by insureds after claim declination.

Our representation in this area begins with a fire scene investigation as soon as possible after the loss. If we are retained quickly enough, we are able to participate in the origin and cause analysis along with the fire investigators. We can direct the collection of debris samples to be tested for the presence of flammable or combustible liquids; we provide an analysis of the potential personal or financial motives for the alleged arson; and we assess the potential exposure for the insurer in the event of claim declination and subsequent first-party litigation.

More importantly, we are able to assist the client in the selection of the fire investigator who will serve as our expert witness, or evaluate the performance of the experts already chosen, to insure sound results.

We continue our representation of the insurer throughout the litigation if instituted, and we utilize every possible means to protect our clients from adverse verdicts. Additionally, we have frequently filed suit on behalf of our insurer-clients to collect monies paid to insureds in good faith prior to the arson determination. Such creatively pro-active litigation helps to put our client on the offensive, rather than the defensive.

The expertise of Tedford & Henry in arson litigation was demonstrated in the case of Travelers Property Casualty Corp. v. Namerow, 261 Conn. 784 (2002), in which Attorney Tedford successfully litigated the notion that motive was not an element to be proven in a civil arson action, thereby allowing the client to recover more than a half-million dollars previously paid its insured.