Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company has filed a lawsuit against Discount Plumbing Inc., doing business as Affordable Rooter, alleging negligence and breach of warranties. The complaint was filed on April 17, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company accuses Discount Plumbing Inc. of causing significant damage to a property they insured due to improper plumbing work.
The case revolves around an incident that occurred at Jones Senior Homes, Inc., located at 1727 Filmore Street, San Francisco. Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company claims that Discount Plumbing Inc. was hired to repair a shower drip in Unit 307 of the property before May 10, 2024. During the repair process, Discount Plumbing allegedly replaced a valve inside the shower wall but failed to perform the task safely. As they soldered the new valve to the existing copper water line, they reportedly ignited insulation within the wall, resulting in an extensive fire.
According to Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company, this fire caused substantial damage exceeding $75,000 to Jones Senior Homes' real property and led to additional expenses. As insurers of Jones Senior Homes under a policy that was active during the incident, Philadelphia Indemnity paid out claims related to this damage and now seeks recovery through subrogation rights.
The complaint outlines two main causes of action: negligence and breach of warranties. For negligence, it asserts that Discount Plumbing Inc. owed a duty of care to perform their work properly but breached this duty by failing to exercise reasonable care during plumbing operations. This included not employing proper techniques or following safety procedures and inadequately supervising their workers.
In terms of breach of warranties, Philadelphia Indemnity alleges that Discount Plumbing impliedly warranted their work would be done with quality workmanship but failed to meet these standards due to improper conduct by their employees or agents.
Philadelphia Indemnity is seeking judgment against Discount Plumbing Inc., demanding compensation exceeding $75,000 for damages incurred by Jones Senior Homes along with costs related to the lawsuit such as interest and attorney fees.
Representing Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company are attorneys from Kaedian LLP including Henry L. Whitehead (SBN 284676), along with Jeffrey M. Zielenski and Thaddeus S. Kirk from De Luca Levine LLC who have applied for Pro Hac Vice status. The case is presided over by Clerk Benjamin Yust under Case ID CGC-25-624500 in the Superior Court of California for San Francisco County.