Statute of Limitations for Michigan

[jcjimenez]

Hello:

My sisters home in Michigan burned Nov 1995. Most of the bldg damages were paid by Farmers insurance along with the Loss of Use (additional living expenses) but they played hardball and never settled the contents claim for total loss items. Farmers felt my sister was deceiving them because of the large amount of contents being claimed and invoked the EUO language of the policy to run her through the ringer with an examination under oath. The claim was not pursued after her husband died in 1997 but Farmers reopened their file in 2004 at the request of my sister. I took over handling the claim for her and after many hours of discussion with my sister, I put togther a claim packet with a detailed report and sent it to Farmers for their review and settlement. The adjuster all along kept saying he would get this settled but then he was deployed for hurricane duty and the file was taken over by his supervisor. After their legal staff reviewed our documents and the claim file, they have denied the claim citing the 6 year statute of limitations for contracts. My question is: When does this statute begin to run? Suit was indeed filed back in 1986 or 1987 when Farmers began playing hardball but she rejected 2 offers of settlement and after her husband died, she did not pursue the claim. Farmers eventually closed their file and that was that. Farmers is now saying that alot of their records have been destroyed because it has been so long but they still have the actual claim file. Do we need to hire a Michigan attorney to re-file the suit or reactive the existing suit? My sister still lives in Michigan in the same home. Any help you can provide would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks! JC

[Mr. Knowitall]

It sounds like she did let the statute of limitations run. She should consult a Michigan lawyer who handles fire claims ASAP.