Hinchman, Rolph & Landis v. Golding

WARD, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment ordering that plaintiff Hinchman, olph & Landis, a copartnership, recover from defendant Ira Golding, individually and doing business under the firm name and style of Cleaning Equip

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ment and Repair Company, the sum of $2,554.30, with interest and costs.

The complaint herein sets forth that one Sholaam Barash, doing business under the name of Ideal Hat and Novelty Company, 767 Market Street, San Francisco, suffered a fire loss on December 5, 1945, “by reason and as the proximate result of the negligent and careless installation” of a boiler unit installed on or about August 14, 1945, by defendant “in that the wooden floor of said premises in and upon which said boiler was set and underneath .and at the base of said boiler was not covered or protected by any sheet metal, tiling, concrete, brick or any other adequate insulating material, thereby resulting in a lack of protection from and against the heat coming from and generated by the use of said boiler. . . . the heat from said boiler set fire to said unprotected wooden floor under and at the base of said boiler.” The complaint further set forth that the value of the stock so destroyed was $3,525.14, and that as at the time of the fire Barash had in full force and effect three policies of insurance issued by National Liberty Insurance Company of New York, which said corporation paid Barash $2,554.30 in full settlement and Barash subrogated his action for the fire loss to said corporation. Plaintiff as general agent for the insurance company brought suit.

As a second cause of action a violation of the San Francisco Municipal Code, section 1536 of part II of chapter 1 (referred to as the Building Code) was set forth. It reads as alleged in the complaint: “Boilers exceeding 10 H. P., used for generating steam for heating or motive power, and large furnaces, shall not be placed on any floor above the cellar of any building, unless the same are set on metal beams and arches and such beams shall be built into the walls. Every steam boiler shall be provided with a tank or other receptacle of sufficient capacity to hold at least a sufficient supply of water to last six (6) hours.

“Whenever steam boilers, water heaters, large cooking ranges, furnaces, candy kettles, laundry stoves set in brick, or other .structures in which fire is maintained, are set on any wooden floor, such floor shall be protected by a continuous sheet metal bearing plate not less than three-sixteenths (3/16) of an inch thick, all joints of which shall be securely riveted, and the top of such plate shall be covered with not less than seven (7) inches of brick or concrete.” It was further alleged “that at the time of the installation of said boiler,