Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1

    Default House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    My question involves insurance law for the state of: Oklahoma

    In March 2014, I had my manufactured home moved to Verdigris, Oklahoma. The owner of the mobile home park I was moving it to paid the house mover as one of the incentives they were running last year to get people to move into the park.

    During the move of my house, the mover ran my house up against some concrete construction barriers and caused $1600+ worth of damage to the outside of my house and damaged some of my shingles. After filing a claim with the mover's insurance company and waiting 9+ months, the insurance company is wanting to pay me the amount of the claim, minus the deductible because the mover is refusing to pay it.

    When I called the mover, he still refused to pay the deductible, saying that he didn't agree with the claim amount. He then threatened to countersue me for slander if I sued him, claiming that I told other members of the community that he didn't block and tie down my house correctly and that he probably did the same thing on the other homes he moved into the park (which was later CONFIRMED and the park manager had to pay another mover to relevel, reblock and resecure the tie-downs on several homes).

    Upon looking at past suits against him for the same type of problems, it appears that when he gets a judgement against him, the plaintiff is never able to collect because he just changes banks to hide his money from garnishments.

    I have not accepted the settlement offer from the insurance company yet because I don't know exactly who to sue. I am certain that I need to file a small claims suit, but I'm not sure whether I file it against only the mover, or to include his insurance company as a defendant. Should I keep holding off on accepting the his insurance company's settlement until he comes up with the deductible?

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    You'll have to balance the "easy money" in the settlement versus getting the full amount in a judgement that may be difficult to collect.
    The insurer in either case should pay up to the limits of his policy.

    I'm unclear why the "deductible" should apply to you at all. I'd sue him for the entire amount and send a copy of the suit to the insurance company.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    Should I keep holding off on accepting the his insurance company's settlement until he comes up with the deductible?
    Should be obvious by now that he won't come up with the deductible voluntarily and you've learned that he probably isn't going to respond to, or pay, a judgment.

    Your option is to accept the settlement less the deductible, sue him for the full amount (knowing you'll probably never collect the whole amount), or file a claim on your own insurance (if you had any). You'd still have a deductible but if your insurance company collects anything the usual practice is to refund your deductible.

    There is one advantage to suing him for the full amount. His insurance company might decide to pay the whole thing rather than incur the cost of representing him in court. But you don't name the insurance company in the lawsuit. He's also full of hot air about a countersuit. He isn't likely to get anywhere with it but it's easy enough for him to file the papers so if that scares you then just take what you can get and move on.

  4. #4

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    So if I don't take the insurance company's offer, and sue him for the full amount without naming the insurance company in the lawsuit, how will the insurance company be forced to represent him in court? Or am I not understanding your suggestion?

    The mover has pissed me off too much by now for me to take the "easy money". After his threat of a countersuit, I can't just let him off the hook.

    Is it lawful for the insurance company to only offer me the amount above the guy's deductible, or does it vary by state? Also, even after refusing to pay the deductible, he is still using the same insurance company. Shouldn't his refusal to pay the deductible on this cause the insurance company to have to drop his policy?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    So if I don't take the insurance company's offer, and sue him for the full amount without naming the insurance company in the lawsuit, how will the insurance company be forced to represent him in court? Or am I not understanding your suggestion?
    1 - You don't sue the insurance company because the insurance company was not a party to the negligence of its policyholder and only represents the policyholder.

    2 - The insurance company has a contract with its policyholder that obligates it to pay on behalf of its policyholder if the policyholder is legally liable. Its obligation is only to its policyholder. The insurance company has no obligation to you at all.

    In fact, the policyholder has the option of not getting his insurance involved. Foolish, yes, but that's not what happened here as the insurance company has already made you an offer.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    The mover has pissed me off too much by now for me to take the "easy money". After his threat of a countersuit, I can't just let him off the hook.
    Can't blame you for that. I have sued successfully and collected when a business pulled something like that on me.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    Is it lawful for the insurance company to only offer me the amount above the guy's deductible, or does it vary by state? Also, even after refusing to pay the deductible, he is still using the same insurance company. Shouldn't his refusal to pay the deductible on this cause the insurance company to have to drop his policy?
    Yes, it's lawful for the insurance company to offer the amount above the deductible. It's common for contractors' insurance to have liability deductibles. Insurance forms have to be approved by the state in which they are written so his is legal just by virtue of having a deductible form that has been approved by the state or it would not be in use.

    Whether his refusal to pay the deductible causes the insurance company to drop the policy depends on the terms and condition of the policy or the practice of the insurance company, neither of which has anything to do with you.

  6. #6

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    OK. If I take the amount above the deductible that the insurance company is offering, then sue the policyholder for the deductible, would the insurance company still have to represent him in court?

    If I don't take the insurance company's offer, and go ahead and sue the policyholder for the FULL amount, will the insurance company definitely have to represent him in court and explain to the judge WHY the policyholder is refusing to pay the deductible? Also, if I do so, what are the chances that the insurance company will put up such a battle that I lose the whole claim amount?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    OK. If I take the amount above the deductible that the insurance company is offering, then sue the policyholder for the deductible, would the insurance company still have to represent him in court?
    If you accepted the insurance company's offer of the amount of the deductible it's possible, maybe even likely, that the claim rep would require that you sign a release of all claims before you would get the money, which means you would be precluded from suing the moving company.

    Even if there was no release you'd have to watch out for similar wording on the back of the check where you would endorse it with your signature that you are accepting the terms of the settlement by depositing it. If you tried crossing out that wording, it's possible that the claim rep would instruct its bank to dishonor the check.

    On the chance that there was no release wording anywhere you would then have the option of suing for the rest of the money.

    Let's take this next paragraph one piece at a time.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    If I don't take the insurance company's offer, and go ahead and sue the policyholder for the FULL amount, will the insurance company definitely have to represent him in court
    Yes.

    The insurance company has a contractual obligation to it's policyholder.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    will the insurance company definitely have to rexplain to the judge WHY the policyholder is refusing to pay the deductible?
    No.

    The only things that get resolved at trial is:

    1 - Was the mover negligent in damaging your property.
    2 - How much is the repair cost.

    If both of those issues are resolved in your favor the judge will write a judgment that the mover owes you X dollars.

    Insurance and deductible and who pays what on whose behalf will never enter into the deliberations and any mention of the issue will be successfully objected to and declared inadmissible.

    Once you have the judgment, the judgment will be against the mover and your collection and enforcement efforts will have to be aimed at the mover.

    There will still be the argument between the mover and his insurance company as to who pays what and that still has nothing to do with you.

    Once you get the judgment in your favor the claim rep is likely to just issue you the check for the amount above the deductible, it will have complied with the policy obligations and you'll be left with enforcing the judgment against the mover for the rest of the money.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    Also, if I do so, what are the chances that the insurance company will put up such a battle that I lose the whole claim amount?
    I kinda doubt that you'll have any trouble winning based on the evidence but I am not clairvoyant and cannot predict the outcome so you just have to do what you gotta do and see how it works out.

  8. #8

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    So from what it sounds like...

    Option 1: If I take the amount above the deductible that the insurance company is paying, I will still have to take the policyholder to court for the deductible.

    Option 2: If I sue JUST the policyholder for the full amount and send the insurance company a copy of the lawsuit, they are obligated to represent him in court. Once I do that, the insurance company may just cut me a check for the full amount to avoid wasted time in court.

    Option 3: If I sue JUST the policyholder for the full amount and send the insurance company a copy of the lawsuit, they are obligated to represent him in court, then once I get judgement aginst the policyholder, they will STILL have to at least pay me the amount above the deductible.

    Am I correct?

    If so, it may be worth gambling the money to file a lawsuit to take the policyholder to court for the full amount as long as the insurance company still has to cut me a check.

    I also have a handful of witnesses that I will be taking with me to court that are certified manufactured home relocation inspectors, so hopefully that will be a large advantage.

    Last question... If I DO file a lawsuit against the policyholder, should I also try to include filing fees and court costs in the lawsuit?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: House Mover is Refusing to Pay Deductible on Damage Caused During Move

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    So from what it sounds like...

    Option 1: If I take the amount above the deductible that the insurance company is paying, I will still have to take the policyholder to court for the deductible.
    Only if you don't have to sign a release. If you have to sign a release you will be relieving the mover from any further liability.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post

    Option 2: If I sue JUST the policyholder for the full amount and send the insurance company a copy of the lawsuit, they are obligated to represent him in court. Once I do that, the insurance company may just cut me a check for the full amount to avoid wasted time in court.
    Yes. That's possible but not guaranteed.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post

    Option 3: If I sue JUST the policyholder for the full amount and send the insurance company a copy of the lawsuit, they are obligated to represent him in court, then once I get judgment against the policyholder, they will STILL have to at least pay me the amount above the deductible.
    That's correct.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post
    If so, it may be worth gambling the money to file a lawsuit to take the policyholder to court for the full amount as long as the insurance company still has to cut me a check.
    I agree.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post

    I also have a handful of witnesses that I will be taking with me to court that are certified manufactured home relocation inspectors, so hopefully that will be a large advantage.
    Witnesses are always a good idea.

    Quote Quoting wwturner2000
    View Post

    Last question... If I DO file a lawsuit against the policyholder, should I also try to include filing fees and court costs in the lawsuit?
    Doesn't take much trying as court fees and process service fees are always added to the amount of the judgment. Just make sure your receipts are in the court's case file.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Condo & Co-Op Repair and Maintenance: Water Damage Caused to Downstairs Unit Due to Freeze Damage
    By aka95001 in forum Real Estate Ownership and Title
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 01-16-2014, 02:02 PM
  2. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-26-2013, 03:14 AM
  3. Fences and Walls: Can't Find the Neighbors to Repair Damage Caused by Their House Fire
    By StrawberryCA in forum Real Estate Ownership and Title
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-29-2012, 11:24 AM
  4. House Mover Disappeared in the Middle of the Job
    By San Antonio Steve in forum Construction, Repair and Renovation
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-25-2011, 11:15 AM
  5. Home Insurance: Negligence Causing Fire Damage and Deductible
    By zipper in forum Insurance Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-18-2010, 07:50 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources