Welder’s Arc— A Friendly Fire
An interesting decision, handed down by the Louisiana Court of Appeals, held that a loss caused by the explosion of hydrogen in an evaporator installation was not covered under a fire policy which excluded loss occurring as a result of explosion, although the explosion was immediately preceded by an arc from a welder’s electrode. The court made a distinction between “hostile” and “friendly” fires and found that the arc from the welder’s electrode was “friendly.”
The Levert-St. John Co., of St. Martin Parish, had instituted action against a number of insurance companies to recover an alleged' loss of more than $41,000 occurring when an evaporator installation was partially destroyed. The insurance companies moved for dismissal on the ground that the company did not state a cause of action against them. The companies based their defense on the exclusion clause in the standard fire policy which excludes: “Loss occurring . . . (c) as a result of explosion or riot, unless fire ensues, and in that event for loss by fire only.”
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