If I hire crew w/ their own equip. who is liable for damages?

T

trulyd123

Hello:

I've drafted a deal memo for a DP I'm using for a low budget indie. I incorporated/copied ;-) some templates I found online.

Here's my question...my DP comes with his own camera and equipment. There's a clause in the deal memo that says he's liable for damages to his equipment, not my production company.

He feels that I should cover it. I do have insurance that covers rented equipment.

Who is liable for damage to his equipment if there are any when shooting? If he damages his own camera while using it filming my movie, am I responsible for it?

Thanks!

Lee
 
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If your agreement says that he is liable for any damages to his own gear then that's the end of the story. If he won't take the job unless you cover it with your insurance, then get a rider added to your policy to cover the value of his additional gear.

Did you get your rental coverage on your own, or was it provided by the rental house? If it was provided by the rental house then there's probably not much you can do, but if you got the policy on your own you should be able to add additional coverage to it.

I can see both sides of this, and while he isn't in the wrong for wanting you to provide insurance to cover his gear on your production in principle... given that the deal agreement includes a waiver in that regard, he shouldn't expect you to cover his gear -- at the same time though, he has every right to not take the gig if that's a deal breaker for him.

I guess my feeling on this though is that if you own your own gear you should probably carry your own insurance covering its usage (when being operated by you, the owner)...


Oh, and... :welcome:
 
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Thanks!

Hi, Will:

Thanks for the quick reply. In your experience, do most people who own their equipment have their own insurance?

And, when taking gigs, do most crewmembers ask that production co. insure their equipment?

Thanks, again!
 
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In the UK it's traditional for the production to cover equipment insurance, simply because if you hired the gear and the DOP separately then you'd have to. Therefore you're asking the DOP to take a less good deal than a rental company. As DOP's with their own kit normally work out cheaper anyway, it's not seen as good form to not cover their gear.

There is another more pragmatic reason... production insurance is designed to cover companies during production. So, if you suffer major, production stopping camera damage, it's in the interest of your insurance company to agree instant replacement, because they're covering lost days... with an owner operator, their insurance doesn't have to cover down time on the shoot... therefore they can afford to drag their heels... and therefore you lose out big style.
 
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Food for thought

Thanks for the input and definitely gives me something to ponder.

I would hate to have my DP, whom I really am exciting about, feel lessened in any way by the deal memo. And, I do want to be fair, but still protect my interests, know-what-i-mean? :-)
 
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I think Clive explained this much better than I did...

Assuming your insurance is actually production insurance, ie: covering all liability of the production, then yes Clive is exactly right.. my gut feeling though is that the insurance you referred to earlier is specific only to your rental equipment, in which case it's a different scenario.
 
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I would hate to have my DP, whom I really am exciting about, feel lessened in any way by the deal memo. And, I do want to be fair, but still protect my interests, know-what-i-mean? :-)
Click to expand...

Having the equipment covered on your insurance, providing you've got the right cover, is in your best interest. (see above post)
 
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