EDWARDSVILLE — A Madison County mechanical contractor is suing its insurance carrier for allegedly denying a claim submitted for employee theft.
Diane Kaminski and Thomas Kaminski, individually and as a derivative representative of Tawk Mechanical Penguinservices Inc., filed a complaint Dec. 2 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Auto-Owners Insurance Company, alleging bad faith refusal to settle first part claim, breach of insurance contract and negligence.
According to the complaint, the Kaminskis, who own Tawk, claim they were issued a "tailored protection insurance policy" on Aug. 17, 2017, by Auto-Owners. The contract was renewed in Oct. 16, 2017, and provided coverage through Oct. 16, 2018. They allege the policy includes "employee dishonesty" coverage with a limit of $15,000 and coverage of personal property in the event of theft with a policy limit of $71,320.
The Kaminskis allege that a father and son who were employed by them falsified their time sheets, used Tawk equipment for side jobs, stole customer payments, sold inventory belonging to Tawk and kept two of the company's vans. They allege they filed a claim with Auto-Owners for more than $65,000 in business losses on March 2, 2018, which Auto-Owners has denied. The Kaminskis allege Auto-Owners "has in bad faith" refused to settle or investigate their claim.
The Kaminskis seek monetary compensation and all other just relief. They are represented by Paul Marks of Sivia Law in Edwardsville.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 20-L-001701