HOUSTON – With the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey only two months away, the Arnold & Itkin law firm filed nearly two dozen lawsuits against insurance companies in one day.
On June 6, the Houston law firm filed a total of 22 Harvey lawsuits in Harris County District Court, alleging insurers underpaid their clients for damages caused by the storm.
Starting on Aug. 22, 2017, Harvey saturated the Texas coast for a week straight.
The suits are nearly identical to one another, with only the names on top of the petitions differing – in most cases at least.
Court records show two suits were filed on behalf of Juana Perez. Both petitions name Certain Underwriters at Lloyds as the defendant.
There were also two suits filed on behalf of individuals with the same last name, Margarita Mejia and Jose Mejia. Both cases name the Texas Fair Plan Association as the defendant.
According to the suits, Jose Mejia’s Pearland home was damaged by the storm while Margarita Mejia suffered damage to her Houston-area property.
The cookie-cutter petitions essentially state the same allegations – the adjuster assigned to the claim conducted a substandard investigation, which led to underpayment.
The vast majority of the lawsuits seek between $100,000 and $200,000 in damages, with the exception of two (filed on behalf of LLCs) that seek more than $1 million in damages.
Nearly a third (seven) of the lawsuits were brought against the Texas Fair Plan Association.
Allstate came in second, with four petitions naming it as the defendant. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds was sued three times.
The Arnold & Itkin attorneys representing the plaintiffs include: Noah Wexler, Roland Christensen, Jake Balser, Jacob Karam and Adam Lewis.
The list of plaintiffs and defendants is as follows:
- Andres Ortiz vs. Liberty Insurance;
- Minerva Marquez vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Margarita Mejia vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Cicero Morris vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Linda Gamble vs. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds;
- Jose Mejia vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Jose Servin vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Margurite Montgomery vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Evilia Gonzalez vs. Allstate;
- 9520 Homestead LLC vs. Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance ($1 million plus);
- Jamie Sanchez vs. Allstate;
- Jeff Samuels vs. Allstate;
- Quail Corner LLC vs. Arch Specialty Insurance ($1 million plus);
- Jorge Becerra vs. Allstate;
- Jose Guerreo vs. Aventus Insurance;
- Manuela Castro-Benavides vs. Lexington Insurance;
- Maria Rojas vs. Centauri Specialty Insurance;
- Setha Chem vs. Texas Fair Plan Association;
- Terrance Posey vs. Liberty Insurance;
- Maria Zuniga vs. Foremost Lloyds of Texas;
- Juana Perez vs. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds; and
- Juana Perez vs. Certain Underwriters at Lloyds.