Howell v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co.

ROBERTSON, Judge.

William T. Howell and Christine Howell (Howells) brought this action against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (State Farm) on their homeowner’s insurance policy for losses they sustained when their home burned. They appeal an adverse judgment rendered in favor of State Farm, raising an issue which we have determined to be dispositive of the appeal: whether the trial court reversibly erred in denying them a trial by jury.

In Indiana, the right to trial by jury in civil cases is of constitutional dimension but, like other constitutional guarantees, is not absolute. Art. 1, §…