Our office has previously discussed whether a public adjuster can appear at your Examination Under Oath (EUO). We have also discussed the parties that need to be produced for an EUO. But what if an Insured fails to appear at an EUO?
As we have always stressed, compliance with post loss obligations is very important before an insurance company will pay your claim. But courts have endeavored to create some bright line rules on what compliance means and, most importantly, what happens if you do not comply. In the recent case of Nunez v. Universal Property, the Court was presented with a fact pattern where an Insured had complied with some post loss obligations but had failed to appear at an EUO. In Nunez, the Insured suffered a loss in April of 2015. The loss was reported to the Insurance Company shortly after discovery. The Insurance Company requested a proof of loss, an inspection, and a recorded statement. All of the latter requests were complied with. The Insurance Company subsequently requested an EUO 110 days after the claim was reported. The Insureds did not appear for the EUO.
The case analyzes certain issues that arose during trial and immediately after. However, the holding of the case is what is important. The Court in Nunez held that the jury should have received an instruction regarding whether (a) Universal had established via evidence that the Insured had materially breached the policy by failing to appear at the EUO and (b) if they had, did the Insured present evidence that established that Universal was not prejudiced by the breach? This is the second case that follows the analysis of American Integrity v. Estrada which lays out the analysis that courts should be taking when insureds do not comply with post loss obligations under the insurance policy.
Alvarez Law Group
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