Texas Nightmare: Nine Years, Justice Still Not Served!

My nightmare with Allstate Insurance started in August of 1991 with a house I owned in Amarillo, Texas. I was repairing it due to water damage from a broken water line in the ceiling.

I was acquainted with a young man who needed a place to rent and asked if I would work something out with him and let him rent my house. I worked out a deal where he would do some of the work and I would supply the materials for the repairs. In return, I gave him a 1-year lease with the first two months rent free and the next ten months rent at a reduced rate for doing repair and maintenance on the property.

We completed most of the work and the young man moved into the house the later part of August with his lease starting September 1, 1991. After he moved into the house he quit working on it. He moved relatives in with kids which were never agreed on in the lease, and a lot of bikers were hanging around there, to the point that the neighbors complained to me about it, and I realized I had made a big mistake leasing to them.

November 1st arrived and the young man wouldn’t make the lease payment, so I put an eviction notice on his door. I had several arguments with him and he finally said they would move out. This was mid November 1991.

One night I confronted the young man and asked when they were going to be out and he really gave me a hard time. He followed me outside to my vehicle,  cussing & calling me names and telling me they would get out of the house but that they would destroy the inside of the house and all of the work they had done. I just drove away and left him standing there yelling.

The next day I called the Justice of the Peace, (a friend of mine) and told him of the situation and wanted to know if there was anything that I could do to protect my property from any harm from the young man and his friends. He advised me to contact a Judge in Amarillo, which I did. The Judge advised me that there really wasn’t anything I could do about it unless someone saw them doing something.

A couple of nights later (11-24-91) the young man informed me that they were moving out and would be gone in a day or so. The next night the young man told me they had gotten most of their things moved out and handed me his key to the house (I had given him 3 keys). He said he would get me the other two keys as soon as he could. I said, “so, I can go tomorrow and start cleaning it up”, and he said, “yes”. I then went home about 11:30 or 12 and was in bed by 1AM.

The next day I went to the house to start cleaning it and discovered it had been gutted by fire. I looked around inside the house and then went across to one of the neighbors to see if anyone knew what had happened. They didn’t know anything except that they had gotten woke up by all the fire trucks early that morning.

I then left the house and I went to the fire station, a few blocks away, to see if anyone there could tell me what had happened. They told me they had gotten the call about 4AM and were there immediately and got the fire out. They got the fire marshal on the phone since he had been called, and he told me that it looked like the fire had been deliberately set as there had been no forced entry.

I started dealing with Allstate Insurance Company and was told by the Allstate adjustor that I was the main suspect because I was the only one who had anything to gain from the house burning.  I went through a lot of arguments with the Allstate adjuster trying to convince him of my innocence and about the way he was handling the case. At one point we had a conversation and he actually told me :

“WE DON’T CARE IF YOU DID IT OR NOT,

 

IF WE WANT YOU GUILTY, YOU’LL BE GUILTY”

On several occasions I tried to demand another adjuster and was told that it was this adjuster or none at all. It was obvious that this adjuster was not doing an investigation, but trying by all means to manufacture a case against me. I contacted the mortgage co. about my payments, of which I had the current month of November due, and was told by them not to worry about my payments, that everything was being put on hold until after Allstates investigation.

Allstate demanded an examination under oath from me and my new wife, Gloria, who was not an insured. (To this day, they still have not even questioned my ex-wife, who was the other insured).  I met with the insurance adjustor and their attorneys and gave them an examination under oath that lasted all afternoon. Gloria, who had only recently married me, didn’t have anything to do with the house, didn’t want anything to do with the house, and denied their demand. After all it was mine and my ex wife’s house, and we were the insureds, not Gloria.

In April of 1992, Allstate Insurance finally denied my claim for the first time. The letter they sent me really didn’t give a valid reason for the denial, but verbally the adjuster told me that it was because my new wife (Gloria) would not give them an examination under oath.

One important reminder here. This was my new wife (Gloria). The house concerned here was my ex wife (Barbara) and my house. My ex (Barbara) and myself were the insured on the policy. My new wife had nothing to do with the property and was not an insured. My new wife did not want anything to do with any of this, or Allstate, and refused to take their examination under oath. The policy, clearly states that only the insured are required to do this.

After finding out that Allstate was denying my claim, I contacted my mortgage co, and was informed that they had foreclosed on my property and sold it. This happened in only 5 months, and without my knowledge. I had owned this property since the mid 70’s and only owed about $4000.00 on it.

I recently found out that Allstate got my house after paying the $4000.00 owed on the mortgage, and sold it for a huge profit. There is no way that it can be lawful for Allstate to, wrongfully, deny my claim, take my house, and then, profit from their Bad Faith and Corruption!

All through this whole ordeal, I’ve tried to keep Allstate informed of everything that would help me, and every step of the way they have told me not to bother them, that they were not interested in anything that I had, or wanted to say. Allstate always failed to properly investigate any incident that would be of benefit to me.

Allstate was successful in getting charges filed against me, but, I kept fighting, never gave up, and knew that by being innocent, I would prevail. In November of 1994, I was notified that the malicious charges instigated by Allstate were being dismissed. I contacted Allstate and demanded settlement of my claim since the malicious prosecution they had instigated was being terminated in my favor. They informed me they were once again denying my claim and that they were not interested in anything I had to say, and not to bother them again. I responded with a letter the next day, letting them know I would follow with a lawsuit if they didn’t reconsider, which I did.

Allstate did not follow it’s own policy mandating an objective investigation. They did not investigate leads that would have proven favorable to me and my innocence. Their demands were unreasonable and in direct conflict with the terms of their policy. Allstate engaged in a pattern of manufacturing and pursuing only leads that were adverse to me. (In court, they have stated the date of Anticipated Litigation as being the date I filed my claim) They suspected arson from the beginning and immediately (before any type of investigation) told me I was the only one who had anything to gain from it. Their investigation was then outcome oriented towards denial of my claim, and towards the malicious prosecution which, luckily, I was able to over-come by being innocent, one fact that Allstate really doesn’t care about.

Because of their final denial in November of 1994, I filed my lawsuit against Allstate Insurance on November 25, 1994. Lawsuit is still pending in El Paso, Texas, County Court at Law #2. Judge Fashing, Cause # 94-12,817.

My case has now been moved to County Court at Law #3 since the first of 1999 and is being handled by Judge Alverez. In March he wrongfully dismissed my case. On July 17, 1999, I was notified by the Court, that my Motion for New Trial was Granted. So, after 8 years, I’m back to square one.

October 2, 2000, (My Birthday). Finally, after 10 long years of Allstate abuse and delays, I went to Trial in El Paso, Texas. Pre-Trial Motions and Opening Arguments took up the morning. I took the stand after lunch and was there the rest of the afternoon and the next morning, until lunch. After lunch Gloria (my wife) took the stand and was there for the rest of the afternoon. On Wednesday, the 4th, Allstate brought in their witnesses (the investigator, and an expert witness). After closing arguments that evening, the jury of 12, went out at 6:30 p.m.. The jury came back in at 7:30 p.m., finding unanimously, (12 – 0) that Allstate was in Breach of Contract. Finally, Justice Has Almost Been Served!