Fish soup shop fire damages tea store; judge cuts compensation after depreciating old equipment

A Tainan court reduced an insurer's compensation claim after finding that much of the neighboring tea shop's equipment could not be treated as newly purchased. The fish soup shop owner must pay NT$402,316, rather than the more than NT$630,000 sought by the insurer.

The fire began in the fish soup shop two years ago after a gas leak and spread to the adjacent bubble-tea store. The blaze, along with water used during firefighting, damaged the tea shop's ceiling and business equipment.

The insurer said the tea shop had been renovated only a few months before the fire and paid NT$926,830 under its policy. It later deducted depreciation and filed a subrogation claim against the fish soup shop owner for property damage and business interruption losses.

The owner argued that the fire had been brought under control quickly and affected only a limited part of the tea shop. She said the store had operated locally for more than 10 years as a franchise before becoming an independent brand. Although its owner replaced the exterior sign and sales-area decoration, the interior partitions, electrical and water lines, and other hardware had not been rebuilt.

The court reviewed records and photographs. It found evidence of major renovation in the sales area, but no proof that the remaining equipment had been newly purchased. Much of it had exceeded its statutory useful life and had to be valued at residual value. The court also excluded claims for a side door and a network router because their connection to the fire could not be established. After recalculating depreciation, it set compensation at NT$402,316.