Man says insurance company underpaid burglary claim

A Texas man is suing over claims he was underpaid by his insurance company after a burglary to his property.

Charles B. Maley Jr. filed a lawsuit Oct. 21 in Galveston County District Court against Century Surety Company, citing breach of contract.

According to the complaint, vandals broke into and stole fixtures from Maley's property on FM 1765 in Texas City on April 22, 2013. Maley alleges his property was insured by the defendant and he submitted a claim, but the adjuster assigned to the claim improperly adjusted it, misrepresenting the cause of, scope of, and cost to repair the damages to the property.

The complaint states that while the defendant represented that the damages would cost only $7,783 to repair, the damages actually exceeded $15,000. Maley says he has been unable to fully repair the property due to the defendant underpaying the claim and wrongfully denying at least a portion of it, saying the cause was not covered under the policy even though it was.

Century Surety Company is accused of violating the Texas Insurance Code-unfair settlement practices, breach of contract, violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, unfair insurance practices and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing.

Maley seeks consequential, punitive and exemplary damages, the cost of the damage to his property plus the 18 percent per annum penalty, interest, attorney fees and costs of court.

He is represented by attorney Ben R. Crowell of Speights & Worrich in San Antonio.

Galveston County District Court case number: 14-CV-1120