Wasko v. Manella

This is a very hard case. As the old adage goes, hard cases make bad law.

The legal issue in this case is the proper allocation of a risk of loss. A building has suffered fire damage as the result of the negligence of an invited guest. Should the risk of loss be assigned to the negligent guest or to the insurance company that provided homeowners insurance coverage against the risk of loss with respect to the property that was severely damaged?

The answer to this question would be obvious if the homeowners insurance policy provided coverage for the insured property for the benefit of all comers.…