Golden v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co.

1

KATRINA GOLDEN Plaintiff, v. STATE FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY Defendant.

Civil Action No. 1:21-00481-KD-B

United States District Court, S.D. Alabama, Southern Division

September 21, 2022

ORDER

KRISTI K. DUBOSE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (Doc 23), the Response by Plaintiff Katrina Golden (Doc. 30), and Defendant's Reply (Doc. 32); Defendant's Motion to Exclude Expert Testimony (Doc. 25), Plaintiff's Response (Doc. 29), and Defendant's Reply (Doc. 31).

II. Findings of Fact^[1]

Plaintiff Katrina Golden (“Golden”) entered into an insurance contract (the “Policy”) with Defendant State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (“State Farm”) with a policy period from May 7, 2020 - May 7 2021, to insure Golden's property at 26890 Cabinet Shop Rd, Loxley, AL, 36426 (the “Property”). (Doc 24-1 at 2). Under the Policy, “accidental direct physical loss” to the dwelling and other structures is covered unless an exclusion applies. (Doc. 24-1 at 21). On September 16, 2020, Hurricane Sally caused damage to the Property and Golden filed a claim with State Farm shortly thereafter.

On October 5, 2020, State Farm sent an assigned claims handler, Jeffrey Whaley (“Whaley”), to the Property to meet with Golden and inspect the damage caused by Hurricane Sally. At the inspection, Golden identified damage to the “garage doors, the roof, the vinyl, the ceilings, [and] the windows” which she attributed to Hurricane Sally. (Doc. 30-1 at 17). Whaley noted, in his report, that a “full roof replacement [was] warranted,” there was damage to some “vinyl siding, window wrap., metal fascia, [two windows],. .and ceiling tiles.” (Doc. 24-2 at 19). On October 27, 2020, State Farm initially authorized repairs for:^[2]

Exterior

• Remove and replace asphalt shingle roofing system including installation of various code items and replacement of flashing, roof vent, and furnace vent (SF 0467-0469).

• Remove and replace vinyl siding, window wrap and trim on the right elevation (SF 0470).

• Remove and replace fascia and re-glaze two windows on the rear elevation (SF 0470).

• Remove and replace fascia and a garage door and hardware on the left elevation (SF 0471).

• Detach and reset vinyl soffit in the garage interior (SF 0470).

Interior

• Remove and replace acoustic ceiling tile in the kitchen due to water damage, clean floor, paint crown molding, install blown-in insulation in ceiling (SF 0466).

• Remove and replace acoustic ceiling tile in the back left bedroom due to water damage, clean floor, paint crown molding, install blown-in insulation (SF 0466-0467).

This initial estimate for repairs in the amount of $19,624.19 did not exceed the deductible^[3] and applicable depreciation pursuant to the Policy. (Doc. 24 at 6; Doc. 30 at 2). On October 28, 2020, Whaley revised the estimate to include additional damages, such as the insulation, demolition, light fixtures, a ceiling fan, vents, and crown molding. (Doc. 24 at 6; Doc. 30 at 2). This revised estimate for repairs in the amount of $24,088.47 did not exceed the deductible and applicable depreciation pursuant to the Policy.

On December 2, 2020, Golden called State Farm to provide notice that she received an estimate on a window repair that exceeded the estimate State Farm Provided. (Doc. 24-2 at 1415). State Farm agreed to increase their estimate for repairing the glass to the window to match the price Golden was quoted. (Doc. 24-2 at 13). Golden also told State Farm that she found additional damages and was going to have a contractor come inspect the Property. (Doc. 24-2 at 15). Prior to submitting claims for additional damage, the roof and garage of the Property were repaired and State Farm issued payment to Golden in the amount of $10,037.40 on March 9, 2021. (Doc 24-2 at 10-11).

On April 14, 2021, Golden's attorney, Smith Prestwood, sent a damage estimate (prepared by Resolved Group, LLC) to State Farm requesting $175, 330.74. (Doc. 24-2 at 10). The Resolved Group estimate^[4] included damage to “vinyl siding, window wrap, facia, interior ceiling tiles, insulation, light fixtures, a ceiling fan, vents, and crown molding.” (Doc. 30 at 2). State Farm responded to Prestwood and requested to re-inspect the Property and an inspection was scheduled for April 28, 2021. (Doc. 24-2 at 8). Representatives of Resolved Group, LLC, Andy Boutwell, and State Farm, Walter Jackson, were present at the reinspection. Boutwell and Jackson reviewed the damages attributed to Hurricane Sally in the Resolved Group Estimate.

After the reinspection, State Farm sent William Creeden of Rimkus Engineering to inspect the Property to better determine, most notably, whether the damage to the windows and brick veneer was attributable to Hurricane Sally. (Doc. 24-2 at 6). Creeden's report from June 9, 2021, concluded that:

1. There were three windows with broken glass. We could not rule out that the glass was broken by wind pressure or windborne-debris impacts associated with Hurricane Sally.

2. The total of 10 window units located on all sides of the building with fogged glass was the result of long-term deterioration of the windows and was not the result of a single storm event.

3. The small cracks in the brick veneer were the result of long-term differential movement between the veneer and framed wall, and they were not the result of a storm event.

Doc. 24-5 at 9.

State farm then revised its estimate to include: A) “two broken windowpanes.. .[and B] overhead and profit.. .with the exception of the roof since a general contractor was not used.” (Doc. 24 at 14; Doc. 30 at 3). State Farm's revision resulted in an additional $19,481.07 being paid to Golden on July 3, 2021. (Doc. 24-2 at 3).

On July 21, 2021, Golden disclosed to State Farm that she retained Christopher Matthews of GCI Consultants, LLC (“GCI”) as an expert to highlight the correlation between Hurricane Sally and the damage sustained to the glazing system assemblies.^[5] (Doc. 24-7 at 17). GCI's examination included “every accessible exterior door and window assemblies.” (Doc. 24-7 at 17). The GCI estimate and report concluded that all windows and doors at the property:

were exposed to similar damaging wind forces that could cause concealed internal damage and damage at locations that were not visually observed. In most cases, the performance of these assemblies has been reduced, and thus they are vulnerable to future wind events that may occur during typical afternoon thunderstorms. In addition, the aesthetics of the assemblies may have been altered.

Doc. 24-7 at 20.

In his deposition, Mathews noted that one of the three windows with broken glass had an interior break, which precluded Hurricane Sally as the originating cause. (Doc. 24-7 at 16). Also, only one window had hardware damage and Mathews pointed out that it could have been caused by either Hurricane Sally or “[s]ome operation type issue with the window itself.” (Doc. 24-7 at 15). Yet, Matthews concluded that the damage to “the insulated glass seals, the glass stop damage, and the frame joint damage” was caused by Hurricane Sally. (Doc. 29-1 at 25).

On April 6, 2022, State Farm's expert, Joseph Asarisi, inspected the Property with Jason Nezat of Resolved Group and Prestwood present. Asarisi's report concluded that:

• The brick veneer on the exterior of the residence was not damaged by the hurricane.

• The loose soffit trim on the garage is due to long term deterioration.

• The three punctures in the vinyl siding on the east exterior elevation of the garage were caused by windborne debris.

• The cracked and broken vinyl siding is due to long-term deterioration.

• The rear door of the house was not damaged by the hurricane.

• The missing breezeway ceiling fan blade was not caused by the wind during the storm.

• The broken window on the rear of the house was possibly caused by windborne debris during Hurricane Sally.

• The cracked windowpane on the rear of the house was possibly caused by windborne debris from the storm.

• The discoloration of the breezeway vinyl ceiling was not caused by the hurricane.

• The section of patched vinyl ceiling in the breezeway was likely blown out by the winds during Hurricane Sally.

• None of the broken seals on all the double pane windows were caused by the hurricane.

• There were moisture stains on the hallway and den ceilings. According to Katrina Golden's deposition, the stained interior ceiling tile in the den appeared a couple of days after the hurricane and was a result of moisture intrusion. Since the roof had been replaced, it could not be determined if the stains were caused by a damaged roof from the hurricane.

• The interior loose ceiling tiles are a result of differential pressure between the attic and interior of the house.

• The bcraped and broken ceiling tiles were caused by ongoing construction inside the residence since there is no record of debris entering through the roof.

• The damaged and missing portions of vinyl ceiling tiles inside the garage were caused by wind after the garage doors blew in during the hurricane.

• The five small punctures in the vinyl siding covered wall on the interior south wall were caused by windborne debris after the garage doors blew in during the hurricane.

Doc. 24-8 at 13.

Asarisi also concluded that the damages listed in the Resolved Group estimate were “excessive” and that the majority of the claimed window damage did not result from Hurricane Sally. (Doc. 24-8 at 19). Consequently, State Farm did not revise its estimate following Asarisi's inspection of the Property.

II. Defendant's Motion to Exclude Expert Testimony of Christopher Matthews

State Farm moves to exclude the report and...