Durio v. Horace Mann Insurance Co.
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The issue central to this case arose from Plaintiff Ginger Durio's claims for property damage to her home following Hurricane Rita and for damages and penalties against her homeowner's insurer. The Court granted review of Plaintiff's case primarily to review the correctness of the rulings of the lower courts that applied the penalty provision of La. R.S. 22:1220 (C) to contractual damages, and awarding attorney fees pursuant to the amended La. R.S. 22:658. In September 2005, Plaintiff owned a home in Lake Charles, which was covered by a policy issued by Defendant Horace Mann Insurance Company (Horace Mann). The home was damaged by the hurricane. The extent of damage to the rest of the structure and to the interior of the home was disputed. Plaintiff filed suit against the insurer alleging her home and everything in it were destroyed, but Horace Mann "consistently arbitrarily and capriciously refused to classify [the] home as a total loss." Following a bench trial, the court ruled in Plaintiff's favor. The court ordered payment of policy limits on Plaintiff's homeowner policies. Horace Mann filed a motion for new trial. At the hearing on the motion for new trial, the court found it erred in awarding penalties under both La. R.S. 22:658 and La. R.S. 22:1220, and vacated those awards. Otherwise, the court denied Horace Mann’s motion for new trial. On its own motion, the court also granted a new trial relative to the attorney fees issue. Noting that newly discovered damages could trigger the amended version of La. R.S. 22:658, the court found there were newly discovered damages as established by the proofs of claim submitted, and those newly discovered damages were subsequent to the amendment. After review, the Supreme Court held that the lower courts erred in calculating 22:1220 penalties based on contractual amounts due under the insurance contract: "[s]uch penalties are properly calculated by doubling the amount of damages sustained as a result of the insurer’s breach of its duties under the statute." Applying the proper statutory interpretation to the facts of this case, the Court amended the trial court’s judgment to reflect the correct award of penalties. Furthermore, the Court held the lower courts erred in applying the amended version of La. R.S. 22:658 allowing attorney fees to be awarded. Thus, the Court reversed the lower courts’ rulings on this issue, and vacated the award of attorney fees. In all other respects, the rulings of the lower courts were affirmed.
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