Renters suffer mold damage; insurer mishandles claim. $100K. San Diego County.

Summary

Liberty Mutual denies claim, says damage was not caused by a specified peril.

Case Name: Berg v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
Court and Case Number: San Diego County Superior Court / 37-2016-00044046-CU-IC-CTL
Date of Verdict or Judgment: Thursday, February 28, 2019
Date Action was Filed: Thursday, December 15, 2016
Type of Case: Insurance – Bad Faith, Claims Handling
Judge or Arbitrator(s): Hon. Eddie Sturgeon
Plaintiffs:
Mike Berg
Karen Doughty
Defendants:
Liberty Insurance Corporation
Type of Result: Jury Verdict

Gross Verdict or Award: $100,000
Trial or Arbitration Time: 9 days.
Jury Deliberation Time: 1 day.
Post Trial Motions & Post-Verdict Settlements: Motions for new trial, JNOV, and Offset denied by court. Pre-judgment interest, expert fees, costs, attorney fees awarded in the sum of $76,024.17

Attorney for the Plaintiff:
The Greenfield Law Firm by Kenneth N. Greenfield and Kate A. Evans, San Diego.
Attorney for the Defendant:
Selman Breitman LLP by Bridget Moorhead, San Diego.

Plaintiff's Technical Expert(s):
Ian Spiszman, air quality testing, Glendale.

Janice A. Ramsay, property insurance bad faith, Irvine.

Facts and Background:
Plaintiffs rented a house. They suffered damage to personal property from mold and moisture damage. The damage claim was initially denied by Liberty Mutual until plaintiff retained an attorney eight months later, when only $5,000 was paid by the insurer. The insurer was immediately sued for delay and failure to pay for the full loss.
Plaintiff's Contentions:
That the excessive moisture was from the leaking exhaust hose from the clothes dryer inside the house. This would have been a specified loss under the policy ("steam from within a household appliance").

That defendant insurer acted in bad faith by denying the claim.
Defendant's Contentions:
That the cause of excessive moisture in the home was improper drainage of water from the exterior. Such cause was excluded from coverage under the policy.