Cases—Conditions—Failure to comply with cooperation clause

An insured who violated the “cooperation” clause of his fire insurance contract by refusing to turn over financial records to the carrier had failed to meet the policy conditions, and therefore the carrier was entitled to summary judgment, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The insured, Russell Doerr, had a policy with Allstate for a piece of rental property.  A clause required that, in the event of claim, Doerr must produce “all books of account, bills, invoices and other vouchers, . . . which we [Allstate] may reasonably request.”  The property had been in “deplorable condition” and Doerr had been trying to get rid of it at the time fire struck.  Firefighters determined that it was arson, and  Allstate demanded that Doerr provide “income tax returns, rental property records, bank statements, credit card account statements, and cellular phone statements.”  Doerr refused, and Allstate therefore denied the claim.

Doerr argued that the requested records were not “relevant” to the claim, but the court disagreed, noting that where arson is involved the financial situation of the owner is always relevant to determining whether the owner was responsible.

Doerr v. Allstate Insurance Co., 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 1839 (6th Cir. Feb. 3, 2005).