$177,000 For a Homeowner Wrongfully Accused of Fraud after House Fire
- Mar 15
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 16
Our client, a single mother with four children, owned a home that was severely damaged by fire. Because of the extensive fire and smoke damage throughout the house, most of our client’s contents inside the home were also completely destroyed beyond recognition.
Our client submitted a claim to her insurance company, and provided a dwelling estimate and other documents supporting her damages. With the help of a reputable contents company, our client also submitted a personal property inventory sheet itemizing everything inside the home that was destroyed by fire.
The insurance company immediately sought to deny coverage for the claim. Rather than pay the claim, the insurance company hired experts to perform a forensic laboratory analysis of the fire debris, a cause and origin investigation, and a forensic electrical engineering investigation. Even though the experts concluded that the cause of the fire was undetermined, the insurance company still accused our client of arson and denied the claim.
We sued the insurance company in federal court. The insurance company withdrew its arson defense, but then tried to escape liability for the claim by arguing that our client lied on her personal property inventory sheet, and accused her of submitting a fraudulent, overinflated claim. After a lengthy litigation fight for almost two years, we successfully proved our client’s damages, and demonstrated that the insurance company had no evidence she committed fraud regarding any aspect of her claim. Our dedicated advocacy on her behalf resulted in a successful $177,000 settlement.
If your insurance company has denied, delayed, or underpaid your insurance claim, contact Law Office of Rabih Hamawi for a case evaluation at (248) 905-1133 or www.hamawilaw.com.
Who is Rabih Hamawi?
Attorney & Counselor
Rabih Hamawi is a principal at the Law Office of Rabih Hamawi, P.C. and focuses his practice on representing policyholders in fire, property damage, and insurance-coverage disputes against insurance companies and in errors-and-omissions cases against insurance agents. He may be reached at (248) 905-1133.
