FR Obtains Bad Faith Verdict for California Fire Loss Victim in Ivers v. Allstate Insurance Co.

Cameron Park, CA

A jury found in favor of Thomas Ivers in his 9-year struggle with Allstate Insurance Company over the loss of his home. Mr. Ivers lost his dream home on 10 acres in El Dorado County in January 1997 due to a fire of undetermined origin. Allstate, his homeowner insurer, claimed that the fire was Arson and that Ivers was responsible. Allstate also claimed that Mr. Ivers fraudulently inflated the value of his personal property lost in the fire, and failed to cooperate with Allstate’s investigation of the claim.

Last summer a South Lake Tahoe jury rejected all of Allstate’s defenses and found that the claim was indeed covered under the policy. The jury specifically rejected Allstate’s defenses of arson, non-cooperation, and fraud. That jury awarded Ivers $676,532 for the cost of rebuilding his home and replacing the contents.

This recent trial addressed the question of whether Allstate’s actions amounted to more than a simple mistake-or “honest dispute” in the words of their attorney. The jury found that the denial for the reasons claimed was improper and breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Although no damages were awarded by the jury in this trial, the court will now be allowed to award attorney fees to Mr. Ivers for his nine year struggle for justice.

Ken Friedman, of Friedman | Rubin, along with Glenn Guenard, Guenard & Bozarth, LLP, represented Mr. Ivers. “Allstate never thought this day would come,” said Ken Friedman, “they believed the mud they threw at their customer would stick. But at the end, we proved it wasn’t arson, it was a covered claim, and it wasn’t an honest mistake.”