How many people pay insurance, year after year, and nothing happens except for paying premiums? This was the case for Eva Mallek. Then approximately 20 years after she purchased the insurance, she had a fire. Allstate argued that no coverage existed because she was not residing at the home when the fire occurred. Mallet said she never received a copy of the policy and did not know of the requirement.
Eva Mallet, who did not even file a brief at the appellate court, won. Allstate could not prove it ever delivered a copy of the policy. The federal appellate court ruled for her and found:1
As to Allstate’s second substantive argument, the district court properly granted summary judgment to Mallek because Allstate did not submit any evidence on summary judgment to rebut Mallek’s sworn testimony that Allstate did not provide her a copy of the Standard Homeowners Policy prior to her loss….Even considering Allstate’s response to the order to show cause, it still did not submit any evidence to establish a genuine dispute of material fact. Allstate asserted that it anticipated that one of its employees would testify at trial that, according to Allstate’s business records, the Standard Homeowners Policy was mailed to Mallek in 1996. But Allstate did not submit an affidavit from its employee to support that assertion….
I wonder if Allstate is going to advertise how it treated Eva Mallek so others can know what to expect if they purchase insurance from Allstate.
Thought For The Day
Advertising is legalized lying.
—H.G. Wells
1 Mallek v. Allstate Ins. Co., No 22-86, 2023 WL 3513783 (2d Cir. May 18, 2023).