Neighboring Property Fire Damage Liability Appeal

A lower court erroneously held that a party was liable for damages resulting from a fire that started in their basement and spread to neighboring properties, despite the party arguing the fire was due to circumstances beyond their control, specifically mentioning a fault in the electrical installation. The high court quashed the decision, reasoning that liability for damages caused by a fire originating on one's property, under the relevant strict liability statute, is only excluded if the fire resulted from *force majeure* or the fault of the victim, and the lower court failed to properly establish that the circumstances, such as an electrical defect, constituted an irresistible and unforeseeable external event amounting to *force majeure* or that the neighbor was at fault.