The Lewis Thomason trial team of David Changas and Robert Reid recently prevailed in the defense of an insurance agent on a third-party indemnity claim by the homeowner’s carrier, which had been sued by the plaintiffs after it denied coverage following a house fire that resulted in total destruction of the plaintiffs’ property. Lewis Thomason’s client had completed the application for the policy, which appeared to indicate that the home contained a sprinkler system it did not actually have. The jury, which found in favor of the plaintiffs, determined that Lewis Thomason’s client, the insurance agent, had not breached the indemnity provision of its agency agreement with the carrier, thus resulting in a defense verdict for the client. Rather, the jury found that the carrier was precluded from recovery under the indemnity agreement because it failed to follow its own stated policy to verify the presence of a sprinkler system when the policy application indicated that the home had one.
