State Farm Files $1.27M Subrogation Claim Against Tesla in Fire That Damaged House

State Farm has filed a $1.27 million subrogation claim against Tesla, claiming that a ‘defect in design or manufacture’ of a 2016 Tesla Model S started a fire that heavily damaged a Carmel, Indiana couple’s home in 2020.

The claim was filed Feb. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by State Farm Fire and Casualty and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.

The lawsuit was filed one day before the second anniversary of the fire, which State Farm says was caused by the Tesla as it was recharging in the attached garage of a home owned by Randall W. and Dorothy S. Sencaj.

‘The day of the Fire, the Sencaj family drove the Tesla to complete various errands. They returned to the home and parked the Tesla in the attached garage, plugging it in to the electric charger. That evening, the Tesla was parked and charging in the attached garage and while the Sencaj family was watching television, they began to observe smoke and flames emanating from the garage,’ the claim states.