HUNTINGTON — An Ohio man is suing Indian Harbor Insurance Company in a class-action lawsuit alleging the insurance company did not properly pay out flood claims.
Neptune Flood Incorporated, Peninsula Insurance Bureau and Sherri Wynter also were named as defendants in the suit.
Gary Morrison lives in South Point, Ohio, but owns a residence in Huntington and had a flood insurance policy with the defendants, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
On May 6, 2022, a flood occurred and severely damaged Morrison's property, according to the suit, and he incurred damages and costs for removing the resulting debris.
Morrison claims the policy obligated Defendant Indian Harbor to pay the plaintiff the full cost to repair his property for damages resulting from the flood.
"Following the Flood on or about May 6, 2022, the Plaintiff timely notified defendants Indian Harbor and Neptune of the damage to his property resulting from the Flood and presented a claim under the Policy, which was identified as Claim No. 953551 and was handled by defendants Indian Harbor, Neptune and Peninsula," the complaint states. "Plaintiff, at all relevant times, paid the premiums due and otherwise complied with the terms and conditions of the Policy."
Morrison claims under the terms of the policy, the plaintiff’s home qualified for replacement cost coverage and the defendants failed to assist him in completing his claim and failed to offer and pay him the full amount of the damages to the plaintiff’s property resulting from the flood.
The defendants advised the plaintiff that Indian Harbor would pay for only a portion of his damages and would be taking a deduction for depreciation in connection with payment for the necessary repair and/or replacement of the plaintiff’s real property, thereby refusing to pay the plaintiff for the full amount of the damages to his property caused by the flood, according to the suit.
"Because the flood and the resulting damage to the plaintiff’s property was a covered cause of loss, defendant Indian Harbor was obligated to promptly investigate the plaintiff’s claims and to pay the insurance benefits for the full cost of repairing and/or replacing the plaintiff’s real property, and to do so without any deduction for depreciation," the complaint states. "Defendant Indian Harbor’s refusal to provide necessary first-party assistance to the plaintiff and its refusal to pay the plaintiff applicable insurance benefits, without imposing an unlawful deduction for depreciation, constitute a breach of the policy, which has proximately caused the plaintiff to incur continuing economic and non-economic damages."
Morrison claims as a direct and proximate result of Indian Harbor’s breach of the policy, Morrison is entitled to recover compensatory damages from the defendant for his net economic loss, attorney fees, and consequential damages.
Upon information and belief, when other Indian Harbor insureds in West Virginia have made claims for damage to their insured real property, similar to the claim of Morrison, Indian Harbor has applied an unlawful deduction for depreciation in connection with the loss and/or repairs to their real property, according to the suit.
Morrison is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is represented by Brent K. Kesner, Ernest G. Hentschel II and Anthony E. Nortz of Kesner & Kesner in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 3:23-cv-00451
