Question 1: Who is responsible to replace my personal property that was located on someone else’s property (leased property, rented out to a customer, etc.)?

Absent a lease provision to the contrary, which would be very unusual, the landlord would not be liable to the tenant (or the tenant’s customers in a commercial context) for storm or flood damage to the tenant’s (or customer’s) personal property. This means, as a bald legal concept, the owner of the personal property bears the loss. However, insurance contracts frequently will produce a different result. For example, the liability insurance carried by a car dealership might in fact cover storm damage to third party vehicles that were in the shop waiting for repair when the storm hit. In some situations, more than one insurance coverage might be available (in the example just given, the car dealership and the car owner may both have liability insurance that would apply). The resolution of the question of whose insurance would pay when neither party is at fault is not within the scope of this manual.

Question 2: Who is responsible for the value of my personal property that was stolen (looted)?

Generally, theft would be covered under most insurance policies. For homeowners, the specific property that might be covered, and the exclusions to such coverage, would all be set forth in the homeowners’ policy. For tenants (for instance a tenant that operates a shop that was looted), the landlord’s insurance is not likely to respond, and, as noted above, the landlord is not going to be legally responsible absent either a lease provision that places the loss on the landlord or some widely-recognized common law theory (such as landlord’s failure to provide adequate security). However, it seems highly unlikely that the common law theories would fit the circumstances of natural disasters.

Question 3: Is there any program available to me to recover the value of my lost personal property?

Refer client to FEMA. Absent insurance, FEMA rules apply and are beyond the scope of this manual.

To download the full Disaster Legal Services Manual, please click here.