Policyholders’ Windstorm Damage Claim Against Insurer Time-Barred, 5th Cir. Affirms

NEW ORLEANS — A federal appeals court has upheld an award of summary judgment to a homeowners’ insurer in a windstorm damage action, ruling that the policyholder’s claim is time-barred by the policy’s limitations period because it accrued when the insurer first denied her claim, more than two years before she filed suit.

On Nov. 30, the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that the claim did not accrue when the insurer later reinspected the property and again denied coverage.

In May 2012, De Jongh filed an insurance claim with State Farm Lloyds for property damage caused by a …