JURIST - Paper Chase: Jury seated for second federal Katrina insurance lawsuit to go to trial

[JURIST] Jury selection was completed Monday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] for the second federal lawsuit to go to trial involving Louisiana homeowners affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster [JURIST news archive]. Homeowners Robert and Merryl Weiss are suing Allstate [corporate website] insurance company for bad faith, alleging that the insurance carrier did not correctly adjust their claim and underpaid them for the structural damage to their home. Allstate contends that they properly paid the couple $29,483 for the damage to the home, because most of the damage was caused by the hurricane's storm surge and does not fall under the Weiss' Hurricane policy. The Weiss argue the damage was caused by wind, which was covered under the policy. Allstate also alleges that the Weiss have misrepresented their claim by attempting to claim at least $34,000 in damages for a boathouse that Allstate maintains wasn't located on the insured property during the hurricane.

In February, homeowners in the first federal insurance trial brought by Louisiana homeowners [JURIST report] abruptly dropped their suit after Allstate alleged they misrepresented their claims. AP has more.

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