Jury upholds insurer’s decision not to pay claim; Fire in 2019 damages commercial building

Action: Insurance coverage, bad faith, agency negligence, breach of fiduciary duty

Injuries alleged: Nonpayment of insurance coverage

Case name: A. Tebele & Sons v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, et al.

Court/case no.: Horry County Common Pleas Court / 2020-CP-26-08080

Judge: Alex Hyman

Demand: $6 million-plus

Amount of award: 0

Date: Dec. 13, 2023

Most helpful experts: James Twaddell, public adjuster, Gerald Finkel, law professor, and Fred Shenay, construction estimator (for the plaintiff); Bernd Heinze, insurance consultant and attorney, and Terry Tadlock, agency standard of care expert (for the defendants)

Attorneys: Gene Connell of Kelaher Connell & Connor, Myrtle Beach, and Trey Deschamps of Deschamps Law Firm, Myrtle Beach (for the plaintiff); L. Andrew Watson and Roman C. Harper of Butler Weihmuller Katz Craig, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dominic A. Starr of McAngus Goudelock Courie, Myrtle Beach (for the defendants)

Plaintiff owned a commercial building in Myrtle Beach that suffered a large fire in 2019. The building did not have a sprinkler system. Plaintiff’s insurance claim for the building damage was declined by the insurers because plaintiff did not comply with the policy conditions to have a sprinkler system. Plaintiff sued the insurers for breach of contract and bad faith and sued its retail agent, Crescent Coast Insurance, for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.