John D. Lummis and Cynthia A. MacBeth v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Company

EVANS, Circuit Judge.

Most people who watch television can sing it: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” John Lummis thinks State Farm should have been, but wasn’t, “there” for him after a fire destroyed his home in Jamestown, Indiana. And State Farm’s refusal to cover the loss gave birth to this litigation, which ultimately included a jury trial and a prior ruling on a motion for summary judgment that took a critical issue out of the jury’s hands. Only the summary judgment matter is before us on Lummis’s appeal.

The house Lummis “owned” (we use quotation marks because his grip on the…