Court Denies Carrier's Motion For Summary Judgment on Residency Issue in Fire Loss Coverage Claim

In the case of Jackson v. Spinnaker Ins. Co., No. 2:22-CV-012244-NBF (W.D. Pa. Jan. 28, 2025 Fischer, J.), the court addressed a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the defendant insurance carrier against claim for breach of contract and bad faith asserted by the Plaintiff relative to an homeowner’s policy and a fire loss. The court granted the defense motion as to the Plaintiff’s claim of bad faith but otherwise denied the motion.

The central question in this case was whether the Defendant insurance company had wrongfully refused to pay coverage for losses sustained by the Plaintiff’s after the Plaintiff's property was damaged in a fire.

The Defendant carrier had denied coverage on the grounds that the property was not the Plaintiff’s “residence,” and that the policy was void due to the Plaintiff’s material misrepresentation during the defense investigation. 

More specifically, the carrier asserted that the carrier falsely represented that the property was his primary residence and that it was not vacant and unoccupied. The Defendant carrier noted that the property lacked any electricity of sewer service.

The court denied the Motion for Summary Judgment on the breach of contract claims after finding, in part, that the policy in question did not restrict coverage to the Plaintiff’s primary residence. Rather, the court found that the policy expressly insured the identified property.

The court held that there was an issue of material fact as to whether or not the property was the Plaintiff’s residence. The Plaintiff had noted that he was sporadically sleeping at the property while completing renovations.

The court also found that the Defendant carrier had failed to establish that the Plaintiff made any statements regarding his residence at the property with knowledge of their alleged falsity or under an alleged deliberate intent to deceive.

The court otherwise denied the Defendant carrier’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the bad faith claim after finding that the Defendant had a reasonable basis for denying coverage.

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Source: The Legal Intelligencer Federal Case Alert, www.Law.com (Feb. 20, 2025).

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