On November 9th, Fireman's Fund Insurance Company won a defense verdict on all issues in a bad faith trial in the court of US District Court Judge David Godby in Dallas. The suit sought millions in damages under a homeowners policy insuring the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in north Texas. Wright personally designed and worked on the 11,000 square foot residence and its historical significance was a major theme in Plaintiffs' case. The insureds alleged a severe hail storm in Dallas in April 2003 damaged the copper roof Wright installed on the expansive house when built. The suit was a fight over causation concerning the origin of severe water damage at the residence.

Fireman's Fund paid $2.5 million on the claim but the insureds wanted many millions more in the suit. Fireman's Fund defended the case on the belief it paid all it owed for covered damages and, in fact, had overpaid the claim. The insureds alleged Fireman's Fund underpaid the claim, failed to adequately investigate causation, made misrepresentations as to policy limits and committed bad faith. Plaintiffs sued for breach of contract, Insurance Code violations, bad faith, and violations of the DTPA. Judge Godby allowed all issues to go to the jury. On November 9th, the jury returned a defense verdict for Fireman's Fund on all issues.

Christopher Martin and Greg Griffith tried the case for Fireman's Fund. We want to thank our friends at FFIC for having the courage to try this case and for the opportunity our firm had to win it. We also want to thank our trial team for their hard work which made this victory possible including associates Nejat Ahmed and Tanja Martini of the Dallas office and Legal Assistant Lana Reed from the Houston office. This win was a great team effort and we appreciate the incredible support we received from Fireman's Fund which made it possible to win..