Fire in mansion leads to contentious business litigation

When a house burns down in California, owners may file an insurance claim. If an insurance company attempts to deny a particular claim, it may lead to business litigation, which is what has happened in another state. In this case, it was an entire mansion that burned, three years ago.

The owners of the mansion filed a lawsuit, claiming their insurance company failed to pay them $14 million to which they say they were entitled following the fire. The insurance company apparently disagrees with that assessment. It has filed a counter lawsuit, asserting that the couple misrepresented their situation during the investigation that took place after the disaster.

The insurance company also seeks repayment of $700,000 that it reportedly already paid the couple before denying their claim. The homeowners are now seeking $60 million in their lawsuit. They say it will take more than $10 million to rebuild their home.

The exact cause of the mansion fire has yet to be determined. Strangely, one of the homeowners has been called into question as to his whereabouts when the fire began. Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that the man's business partner, who spoke to authorities about the situation, was later found deceased on the couple's property after an apparent suicide. Not every California business litigation situation is as full of mystery and unanswered questions as this one seems to be, but many are complicated and difficult to resolve for other reasons; this is why most people hire attorneys to assist them in court.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, "Lawsuits Over Ohio Mansion Fire Set for Trial Next Month", Sept. 3, 2017