Jury May Consider Replacement Cost at Time of Loss in Calculating Actual Cash Value, Texas Judge Rules

HOUSTON — A jury may consider the replacement cost of a property at the time of the loss in determining the actual cash value due to the policyholder, a Texas federal magistrate judge has ruled in a dispute over insurance coverage for a building damaged by Hurricane Ike.

In a March 3 order, Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas further ruled that the jury may not consider damage to the building’s “fiber optics” room because the equipment and repairs to the room’s drywall or flooring were the tenant's, not the …