Unusual Weather Cases

by Kim Fisher, Business Development & Sales Associate

When you think of weather-related cases, you may think of a slip & fall on ice, or property damage due to a hurricane. However, there are some unusual cases that involve weather that we’ve worked on.

An attorney contacted us and was working on a case involving paint that was peeling off a commercial fishing boat. Our attorney was representing the plaintiff: the boat building company. The boat builders were suing the paint company, saying that the paint was a bad batch since it peeled off fairly quickly. The paint company said that the paint must not have been applied under the correct environmental conditions. It needs to be applied at a relative humidity below 85%, and temperatures above 20 degrees F. Our weather expert researched the temperatures, dew points and relative humidity for the time frame during which the boat was painted. He found that the boat was painted under the correct conditions, which was favorable to our client.

Another atypical case we’ve worked on is one where a coal mining company mined for coal in an area. They were accused of not following the governing guidelines for reinstating the land afterwards. Many houses in the nearby community flooded, and some washed off their foundations. The attorneys representing the plaintiff homeowners in a class action lawsuit hired our weather expert. He did research regarding the rainfall and flooding that had occurred. His findings were favorable to our client, and the plaintiffs received a $750,000 verdict in their favor.

We’ve also worked on criminal cases, which can include trying to figure out if someone’s testimony is credible. Our client was trying to discredit witness testimony that there were icicles hanging from a building. We looked at the recent temperatures and precipitation to see if conditions were conducive for icicles to form. Our weather expert determined that there were likely no icicles present at the time in question, due to above freezing temperatures for over 24 hours and a lack of snow and ice cover. Therefore, it is possible that the witness was not being entirely truthful.

There are many cases out there that involve the weather, but at first glance you might not think weather is a factor. Our weather experts can help you out even with the most unusual of weather cases.

Give CompuWeather a call at (845) 227-8500. Speak with our?Certified Consulting Meteorologists?and see how their expertise can add value to your legal case or claim.