Hidalgo County jury finds in favor of USAA following trial of $1M Mostyn Law hail suit

By: David Yates

BEAUMONT – A Hidalgo County jury recently found USAA Texas Lloyds complied with its insurance policy with a couple claiming the insurer undervalued their claim for hail damage.

Seeking up to $1 million in damages, George and Dahlia Halow filed suit against USAA on March 29, 2014 – two years after their home was allegedly damaged.

Almost four years after the suit was filed, the case went to trial and ended with a judgment in favor of the insurance company on Feb. 27, court records show.

The Halows claim their home was damaged by the March 2012 hailstorm that swept through the area and caused massive damage.

The couple claims the storm caused substantial structural and exterior damage to their home, and also damaged personal belongings, including a picnic table and trampoline.

USAA assigned an allegedly “improperly trained” adjuster, who performed a “substandard inspection,” which led to the Halows claims being undervalued.

The suit accuses the defendants of setting out to underpay on properly covered damages.

“As a result of these Defendants’ unreasonable investigation of the claim, including not providing full coverage for the damages sustained by Plaintiffs, as well as under-scoping the damages during their investigation and thus denying adequate and sufficient payment to Plaintiffs to repair their home, Plaintiffs’ claim was improperly adjusted,” the suit states.

“Defendant USAA failed to perform its contractual duties to adequately compensate Plaintiffs under the terms of the Policy.”

When the jury was asked if USAA failed to comply with the insurance policy, they answer with a unanimous “No.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Mostyn Law attorney Gregory Cox.