A three-judge panel of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous opinion last week in favor of the First Baptist Church of Fort Smith over Zurich American Insurance Company, reversing a lower court ruling and sending the case back for further litigation.
Circuit Judge Steven Grasz authored the panel opinion, concluding that there were “potential genuine disputes of material fact not properly litigated” at the district court level.
Grasz said that Zurich had shifted its legal argument over the course of two briefs from being “focused solely on the lapse of time between the date of the alleged cause of loss or damage and First Baptist‘s claim,” to shifting to “First Baptist‘s knowledge of damage of which Zurich claimed First Baptist was required to report.”
Grasz said that due to “how Zurich raised the issue of First Baptist’s knowledge about past loss or damage, First Baptist was hindered in introducing evidence.”
In January 2022, when a roofing inspection revealed hail damage that likely occurred in April 2017, FBC filed a claim with Zurich. However, the insurance company denied the claim, arguing that other factors contributed to the roof damage and that the church had failed to provide “prompt notice” of the damage.