Homeowner wants full compensation from insurer

A Galveston County woman has sued an insurance company and a consulting group on a 2012 claim regarding the plaintiff’s insured property.

Carolina Mayeux of Dickenson filed a lawsuit suit Feb. 5 in Galveston County District Court against State Farm Insurance Company and Brown Consulting Services, citing breach of contract, noncompliance with insurance code and unfair settlement practices.

According to the complaint, the defendant sold Mayeux a homeowners’ insurance policy to cover her residence at 5315 Thistle Drive, Dickenson. She hired a plumbing company July 4, 2012, to investigate a leak under the home’s foundation, the suit states, and the leak had caused damage. Mayeux contacted State Farm to make a claim, the suit says, and State Farm engaged a second plumbing contractor July 30, 2012, to verify the first plumber’s findings.

The insurance company paid a minimum amount toward the claim, the suit states, but it did not address the foundation or cosmetic damage. Subsequently, an estimate was forwarded to State Farm including foundation reports from two separate contractors, the complaint states.

State Farm ignored these reports, instead sending Brown Consulting Services for a second inspection, the suit states. Mayeux contests the monetary difference between the various parties’ estimates and alleges the insurance company is requesting additional inspections as a way of delaying paying additional money toward the claim.

Mayeux seeks between $50,000 and $1 million in damages, attorney fees, expenses and costs. She is represented by attorney Shaun W. Hodge of Hodge Law Firm in Galveston.

Galveston County District Court case number: 15-CV-0114