EDWARDSVILLE - A man who suffered fire damage to his commercial property is suing his insurer for allegedly failing to pay the full assessed value for the property.
Johnny Nance filed a class action lawsuit on Jan. 11 in the Madison County Circuit Court against Zurich American Insurance Company, alleging breach of contract.
According to the lawsuit, Nance suffered fire damage to his commercial property on July 21, 2021, and submitted a claim to the defendant to cover his losses. The defendant sent an adjuster to inspect and assess the damages and determined that Nance had sustained a covered loss to his property with a replacement value of $196,166.77. Nance claims Zurich only sent him payments totaling $145,204.25. The defendant claims the policy is not required to use a "fair market value" methodology to determine the actual cash value of a loss.
Nance alleges Zurich did not fulfill its initial contractual obligation to an insured party by paying for a full loss, and instead, has customs and practices allowing them to only cover a partial loss.
Nance seeks a declaratory judgment, preliminary and permanent injunction and equitable relief against Zurich. He also seeks an order requiring the defendant to perform and carry out policies and practices. Additionally, Nance seeks damages, punitive costs and expenses.
He is represented by Christopher W. Byron of Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb in Edwardsville and attorneys with Butsch Roberts & Associates LLC in Clayton, Mo.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-000031