Jamesc2123 wrote:
So who foots the bill on all this? Is it up to each person's insurance to cover damages?
Presumably yes.
Jamesc2123 wrote:
Surely Russo and Steele would have some liability in that they were running the events and set up the tents and all...
I don't know much about R&S's listing agreements, but unless there's something unusual in there, R&S should have no liability unless it can be shown that they or their agents were negligent (rough translation: failed to exercise reasonable care) in setting up the tent. Even this could possibly be waived by the listing agreement. Given how bad the storm supposedly was, I don't have any reason to believe that there was any negligence. It sounds like what is known in insurance parlance as an "Act of God."
Now, if one or more of the collector car insurers (a fairly small group) has enough claims they pay out, they may decide to go after R&S on some sort of negligence/premises liability theory. It might be worth it to an insurer who was out a few million in claims, but any individual owner would likely be better off making a claim with their own insurer. That's why one carries insurance. Any smart collector carries "agreed value coverage," which means if the car gets smashed, the insurance company writes a check for the agreed value and keeps the car.
There isn't really any reason why R&S would insure the value of the cars because, as I understand the auction format, they never own the cars. R&S would only insure an amount commensurate with their exposure, which at most the value of the company.
