CHARLESTON — Sayer Brothers Inc. is suing Colony Insurance Company for allegedly breaching its contract for coverage.
A large portion of a brick wall on the Sayer Building collapsed as a direct and proximate result of wind pressure, which occurred during a period of high winds in the Logan County area on April 26, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court and later removed to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Sayer claims it contacted Colony Insurance and Brian Farrelly, its employee, and submitted a timely claim for insurance benefits under its policy with the insurance company and an engineer was sent to inspect and determine the cause of the collapse and the engineer determined that wind caused the collapse.
Despite having received the report regarding the collapse from the engineer, the defendants denied the claim and indicated that no coverage was provided under the policy.
"Despite actual knowledge that the damages to the Sayer Building were caused by a covered cause of loss...of the Colony Policy, Defendant Colony and Defendant Farrelly have continued to deny coverage for the damages to the Sayer Building, which has left the Plaintiff Sayer no choice by to file this action," the complaint states.
Sayer claims the defendants breached their contract with Sayer and acted in bad faith. It claims the defendants also breached their fiduciary duty and violated consumer protection statutes by its unfair trade practices.
Sayer is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. It is represented by Brent K. Kesner and Ernest G. Hentschel II of Kesner & Kesner; and Robert V. Berthold Jr. and Robert V. Berthold III of Berthold Law Firm.
The defendants sought to have the case removed to federal court on Jan. 15, citing that the court has jurisdiction due to the diversity of citizenship.
"Colony is a Virginia corporation with its principal place of business in Richmond, Virginia," the notice of removal states.
Farrelly resides in Bloomfield, Conn., according to the notice.
The defendants also claim the amount in controversy exceeds the state court $75,000 threshold.
The defendants are represented by Michael J. Farrell and Jayson T. Hamrick of Farrell, White & Legg.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Case number: 2:20-cv-00040