An insurance company accuses Mascoutah homeowners of intentionally damaging their property and misrepresenting information in response to a suit alleging the insurer denied their claim following a house fire.
Derek Marshall filed the complaint on April 8 against Country Mutual Insurance Company, alleging breach of contract.
According to the complaint, Country Mutual Insurance allegedly issued a homeowners policy for Marshall beginning Dec. 7, 2018, insuring the plaintiff’s property located on Elmrose Lane in Mascoutah. Marshall claims the property was destroyed or severely damaged by a fire on Feb. 19, 2019.
Marshall alleges he made a claim to Country Mutual Insurance for payment under his policy, but the defendant denied the claim.
“Defendant’s denial was unreasonable and failed to contain an accurate explanation of the basis in the insurance policy or applicable law for such denial,” the suit states.
Marshall alleges the defendant wrongfully refused to consider his claims, refused to provide an accurate basis for the denial, refused to properly investigate the claim, refused to settle the claim, and failed to evaluate the claim objectively.
“Defendant, Country’s unreasonable and inaccurate explanation of the basis in the insurance policy or applicable law for such denial, refusal to negotiate with plaintiff, and failure to properly investigate the claim was done with a conscious and reckless disregard for plaintiff’s rights with the willful, wanton, and malicious intent to injure, annoy, and to encourage plaintiff to ‘walk away’ or withdraw his claim,” the suit states.
Country Mutual Insurance answered the complaint on June 17 through attorney Christopher Bortz of Neville Richards & Wuller LLC in Belleville, denying liability.
In its affirmative defenses, the defendant argues that Marshall “was responsible for intentionally causing the loss and/or intentionally procured the loss.”
Country Mutual Insurance claims Marshall made material misrepresentations during the claim investigation, violated terms of the policy, and failed to cooperate during the investigation.
“The plaintiff intentionally misrepresented information, concealed information, made false statements and engaged in fraudulent conduct with respect to the loss,” the answer states.
Country Mutual Insurance filed a motion to consolidate the case with Heather Marshall’s breach of contract complaint (20-L-330), which involves the same incident.
“The incident at issue in both cases was a single occurrence,” the motion states. “Both complaints appear interchangeable, with the name of the plaintiff being swapped.”
Marshall seeks a judgment in excess of $50,000, plus attorney’s fees, compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, and all other relief the court deems just.
He is represented by Dominic Kujawa PC of Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 20-L-288