The Tennessee strip mall owner said the insurer initially offered it only $5,000 after it had promised full coverage for the reported sewer backup.
According to the complaint, the sewage damage affected all four units in the company’s Memphis building, causing a “tremendous amount of damage.” The insurer “repeatedly assured” Simmons that the damage was covered, under its existing policy, but in March Nationwide said that the coverage limit for a water backup claim was $5,000.
The mall owner wrote in the complaint, “To date, the plaintiff’s claim remains nearly entirely or otherwise substantially unpaid and not fully completed despite the plaintiff’s repeated, continuous, and unyielding efforts to cooperate with the defendant.”
Simmons, who is represented by Kevin A. Snider of Snider & Horner PLLC, argues that his client is still incurring damages from Nationwide’s refusal to pay, and its failure to mitigate damages.
“The defendant’s actions were intentional, willful, malicious, and/or reckless and entitle the plaintiff to punitive damages,” Simmons wrote. “The defendant knew of the foregoing falsehoods and made them recklessly with the intent to deceive the plaintiff and to induce them into entering into an insurance policy with the defendant.”
