A trial verdict in Toledo, Ohio, recently exonerated HeplerBroom’s client of any wrongdoing in an insurance coverage matter. The plaintiff had sued the client for breach of contract and bad faith. HB attorneys Rick Hammond, Amy Johnson, and Justin Curtis, who took the case over from another law firm after discovery had previously closed, defended the client’s coverage decision based on the policy’s residency and fraud exclusions. In its decision, the court concluded that, “Plaintiff did not reside at [address] at the time of the fire loss as required under the insurance contract. Further the Court finds Plaintiff triggered the terms of the ‘concealment or fraud’ exclusion under the contract.’ Therefore, Defendant rightly denied coverage on both grounds, though it only need one.”

Hammond, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office, focuses his practice on matters relating to property insurance coverage, fire and explosion cases, and bad faith. He also serves as an expert witness on insurer bad faith and as an adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at Loyola University Chicago Law School. In addition, he is a member of Loyola University Chicago’s Board of Trustees and Past President of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel.

Johnson, an of-counsel attorney who is also based in the firm’s Chicago office, focuses her practice on insurance law, personal injury, and property damage. She has 20 years of experience mitigating risk on coverage issues and high exposure or bad faith claims. She also has significant litigation experience in bad faith insurance claims, including a successful appeal record.

Curtis, a litigation associate in the firm’s Hammond, Indiana, office, focuses his practice on first- and third-party insurance defense and insurance coverage, along with fraud and bad faith litigation. He currently serves as Chair of the Insurance Coverage Section of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana