SAN ANTONIO - The Fourth Court of Appeals today affirmed a take-nothing judgment in favor of Allstate in a hailstorm lawsuit brought against the insurance company.
According to the Fourth Court’s opinion, Brian Jones sued Allstate for breach of contract and unfair settlement practices for its handling of a property damage claim in connection with an April 2016 hailstorm.
After an initial inspection of Jones’ home, Allstate estimated $4,840.62 in covered damages. After applying the deductible, Allstate paid him $2,840.62. Dissatisfied that Allstate did not pay for an entire asphalt roof to be replaced, Jones requested a second inspection. Allstate paid an additional $425.26 but maintained that the roof sustained no covered damage, and refused to pay for the roof’s replacement. Approximately sixteen months after the hailstorm, Jones sued.
Court records show the trial court, in accordance with a jury’s verdict, signed a take-nothing judgment in Allstate’s favor.
On appeal, Jones contends that he conclusively established his breach of contract claim and that the jury’s rejection of his breach of contract and unfair settlement practices claims is factually insufficient.
The Fourth Court overruled Jones’ issues and affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
“Accordingly, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict regarding Brain’s (Jones’) breach of contract claim, we conclude that the evidence is legally sufficient,” the opinion states. “We further conclude that any disputed evidence, viewed in light of the entire record, could have been reconciled in favor of the jury’s verdict on Brian’s breach of contract claim and unfair settlement practices claim or was not so weak as to make the finding clearly wrong and manifestly unjust.
“Therefore, we hold that the evidence is legally sufficient to support the jury’s verdict on Brian’s breach of contract claim and factually sufficient to support the jury’s verdict on Brian’s breach of contract and settlement practices claims.”
Appeals case No. 04-22-00010-CV