In a decision made last week, a New York federal judge applied New York suit limitations law allowing a policyholder to file a lawsuit more than seven years after her apartment suffered water damage.1 Here are the relevant facts recited by the court:
Continue Reading New York Property Insurance Claim—When Is the Deadline for Filing Suit?
Ohio allows insurance companies to shorten the statute of limitations to file a lawsuit to those stated within the policy terms. The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a contractual one-year time limitation on a property insurance claim arising from a tree falling on a house:1
Continue Reading Ohio Insurance Claim Limitations to File a Lawsuit
Florida used to have a statute of limitations for insurance lawsuits that was five years from the date of the breach of contract. As a result, some cases would be filed nearly a decade after the loss. Not anymore, as one condominium and its lawyers learned in a federal court decision last week.1
Continue Reading New Florida Statute of Limitations Law Costs Condominium $13 Million
Statute of limitations and time periods to perform post-loss actions by policyholders are important. Some states hold these periods set out in policies as “can’t miss” deadlines. In some states, if you are late, you are out of luck collecting more money even if owed.
If you search “Statute of Limitations” or “Suit Against Us” on the Merlin Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog (which I encourage you to do), you will have no shortage of reading material. While not a novel topic, the number of blogs should stress the subject’s importance.
Continue Reading Not All Limitations Periods Are Created Equal
August 27th marks the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Laura’s landfall in Southwest Louisiana, and besides bringing back a lot of painful memories, that means it will be the last day to bring a lawsuit against insurers for damages caused by that storm.
Continue Reading Alarm Bells Should Be Ringing For Anyone In Louisiana With An Unresolved Insurance Claim Stemming From Hurricane Laura
Appraisals are a common alternative method to litigation for resolving property insurance disputes. Still, the time to file suit varies from state to state, even when an appraisal is invoked. Policyholders should be wary that even though an appraisal is invoked, some states still allow the time to bring suit to run despite the ongoing appraisal. Statutes of limitation when an appraisal is involved can be a complex and often overlooked aspect of a claim with disastrous results if the issue is not legally analyzed.
Continue Reading When Does the Statute of Limitations Run After a Texas Appraisal?
On April 28, 2021, policyholders in Norman, Oklahoma, and surrounding areas were rocked by a catastrophic hailstorm with baseball size hail and 70 mph winds resulting in more than $1 billion in damages. As many of our blog readers may know, I was one of those policyholders. While I am fortunate to report State Farm has paid my claim in full and all my restoration work has been completed, many policyholders cannot say the same. With supply chain issues and market pricing increases, many Norman policyholders are still waiting on roofs and windows, which keeps their claims open. Others are still fighting over their scope of damages or proper costs for repair/replacement. Regardless of what aspect of their claim remains unresolved, with the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic hailstorm coming up, they now face the possibility of having to timely file a lawsuit by April 28, 2022. Failure to do so may result in a waiver of policy benefits they are otherwise entitled to. How could this happen?
Continue Reading A Warning for Norman, Oklahoma Policyholders on the One-Year Anniversary of the April 28, 2021, Catastrophic Hailstorm
I posted a blog earlier this week, Kentucky Allows Property Insurers To Shorten The Statute of Limitations—Even If You Do Not Know That A Loss Occurred. I received an email from an outstanding lawyer and colleague, Brandon McWherter. He sent me a case decided last month by a separate federal court in Kentucky that ruled favorably on a statute of limitations issue in Kentucky.1
Continue Reading A Follow Up to Kentucky Statute of Limitations Following Hailstorm Losses
Policyholders should always check their duties after loss, when the proof of loss is due and when the deadline is to file a lawsuit. It is hard to provide a notice of loss, much less file a lawsuit, if you are unaware that a loss happened but was not discovered. This is a frequent issue in hailstorm losses.
Continue Reading Kentucky Allows Property Insurers To Shorten The Statute of Limitations—Even If You Do Not Know That A Loss Occurred