Dolenz v. American General Fire & Casualty Co.

OPINION

ROWE, Justice.

Bernard J. Dolenz sued the insurers for fire loss to a residence and its contents and for bad faith claims handling. Pending trial, the insurers paid Dolenz the face amount due for a total loss of contents and, claiming the dwelling loss was less than total, paid approximately one-third of the insured value of the dwelling. A subsequent court-ordered appraisal, found valid by the trial judge, fixed the loss to the dwelling at $7,713.43 less than the insurers had already paid. Thereupon, Dolenz amended his pleadings to reflect: that no further insurance proceeds were owed…