THE LONG ROAD HOME AFTER UNPRECEDENTED DISASTERS
How We Helped Nell Battle Insurance Negligence
BREAK TAKE A company. Ms. Morris made a claim for Hurricanes Laura and Delta with her insurance company. Like so many others, her insurance company dragged its feet in paying her. In the meantime, she also hired a contractor to start making the repairs. For over two years, from August 2020 until November 2022, Ms. Morris could not live in her house. She had to live out of a hotel and watch as her home continued to deteriorate. Throughout the two years her claim Most people remember 2020 as the year that COVID-19 happened. But for folks in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana, 2020 unleashed unprecedented disasters. Two category-four hurricanes struck this area (Hurricanes Laura and Delta), then six months later, most of Texas and Louisiana dealt with the chilling effects of Winter Storm Uri. Our firm represented countless folks from Texas and Louisiana dealing with the aftermath of these never-before-seen natural disasters. But one story stuck out in my mind about Nell Morris. Ms. Morris had the “perfect storm” of all three disasters striking her home. She had been with her insurance company for 40 years and, in that 40-year timeframe, had only one other claim with her insurance
dragged on, she had 26 different adjusters handle her claim. Despite having six trees fall on her property, the first adjuster did not allow for significant interior damages or approve any mitigation work needed to dry out the property. Even worse, through the discovery process, our firm was able to find that the insurance company told the engineer very specifically what the insurance company’s position was before ever inspecting the loss , thereby planting the seed in the engineer’s mind about what would not be covered. This is completely against the maxim that insurance companies must handle their customers’ claims in good faith and not conduct outcome-oriented investigations. Even though Ms. Morris incurred real expenses each month through her contractor, when she submitted these invoices to her insurance company, her insurance company continued to deny them. This led her own contractor to sue her for unpaid invoices. One of the hardest parts of having three back-to-back natural disasters is being able to separate the damages. In Ms. Morris’ case, we knew the policy limits would be a problem. We made a compelling argument that multiple policy limits should apply since her insurance company inspected the loss after each loss. She had contractor bids after each loss to separate the damages. Our firm fought tooth and nail, and a month before the case headed to trial, we ended up settling the case for Ms. Morris, including negotiating a reasonable compromise with her contractor as well. While we hate that Ms. Morris had to face this ordeal, I’m so glad that the firm and I were able to help her get resolution and return to her home. –Nishi Kothari
Tasty Holiday Chocolate Mousse
Add even more cheer to the holidays with this decadent chocolate mousse.
Ingredients: • 10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped • 4 tbsp butter
• 4 large eggs, separated • 2 tbsp granulated sugar • 1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions: 1.
In a medium heatproof bowl, add chocolate and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate and butter are melted and blended, then remove from heat and let cool slightly. 2. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks until thick. Then gradually add melted chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. 3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Then gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. 4. In another bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form; fold egg whites and then cream into the chocolate mixture. 5. Pour into individual serving dishes and chill for 3 hours or until set.
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