Insurer Denied Summary Judgment in Hurricane Insurance Claim Payment Dispute

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut federal judge has denied an insurer’s motion for summary judgment in a dispute over whether an adjuster negligently failed to include a property’s mortgagee on an insurance claim payment for hurricane damage to the property.

On July 6, Judge Michael P. Shea of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut found issues of material fact exist as to whether the adjuster had knowledge of the mortgagee’s interest in the property and whether the insurer was actually forced to settle with the mortgagee.

In October 2005, Hurricane Wilma damaged four properties in Broward County, …