Court Orders Iowa Woman to Pay $61,000 to Ex-Landlord’s Insurer

A judge has ordered a woman to pay more than $61,000 to her former landlord’s insurance company, finding her at fault for a fire that destroyed a rented house in Mason City.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Judge DeDra Schroeder made the ruling Tuesday against Becky Sehlstrom, who’d been sued by State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. The company sued Sehlstrom after the fire on Nov. 17, 2011.

The Mason City Fire Department says the fire was caused by a pan of oil left on a stove. The lawsuit says Sehlstrom was negligent and that the fire would not have ignited and spread if she’d taken reasonable care with the pan of oil and the stove.

Court documents say State Farm already has paid the landlord’s claim.