{"id":894723,"date":"2018-08-09T11:13:31","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T17:13:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=894723"},"modified":"2018-08-09T11:13:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T17:13:31","slug":"examinations-oath-careful-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/examinations-oath-careful-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"Examinations Under Oath: Be Careful What You Ask For"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Edward Eshoo | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propertyinsurancecoveragelaw.com\/2018\/08\/articles\/insurance\/examinations-under-oath-be-careful-what-you-ask-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog<\/a> | August 4, 2018<\/p>\n<p>My article published in\u00a0<em>Adjusting Today<\/em>,<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/everything-always-wanted-know-examinations-oath-afraid-ask\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Property Insurance 101: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Examinations Under Oath \u2013 But Were Afraid to Ask!<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, was the subject of\u00a0my blog post last month. As discussed in the article, an examination under oath (\u201cEUO\u201d) is not just another deposition. An insured\u2019s counsel must be well-versed on the nature and the extent of the contractual duty to submit to an EUO and the consequence of non-compliance.<\/p>\n<p>The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal\u2019s recent decision in\u00a0<em>Hutchinson v. Allstate Insurance Company<\/em>,<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0demonstrates the harsh consequence of an insured\u2019s refusal to answer material questions during an EUO. There, a fire destroyed the insured\u2019s dwelling. Allstate requested the insured to submit to an EUO because it had doubts he resided at the dwelling at the time of the fire. The insured appeared for the EUO without counsel. But, before answering questions, he expressed concern about a letter he had received from Allstate in which Allstate indicated that he had not responded to communications from its attorney regarding scheduling the EUO. The insured told Allstate\u2019s attorney that the statements in the letter were not true and asked Allstate to recant the statements. Allstate\u2019s attorney refused to recant the statements, to which the insured responded, \u201cWe can\u2019t move forward until this letter is corrected. I don\u2019t have a problem answering any questions you ask.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allstate\u2019s attorney warned the insured that Allstate would treat his failure to respond to his questions as a material breach of the contract that probably would result in the denial of his claim. The insured again stated that he would answer Allstate\u2019s questions, but insisted that Allstate recant the disputed statements in the letter first. Allstate\u2019s attorney asked the insured questions regarding his residence; the insured sat in silence, giving no responses. Allstate subsequently denied the claim.<\/p>\n<p>Over a year after his claim was denied, the insured retained counsel who sent a demand letter to Allstate threatening to sue unless the claim was paid within 60 days. The letter also indicated the insured was willing to sit for a second EUO. Allstate agreed to a second EUO expressly subject to a full and complete reservation of all rights and defenses. That EUO never occurred, and the insured sued Allstate when it did not comply with his demand.<\/p>\n<p>Allstate moved for summary judgment based on the insured\u2019s failure to answer Allstate\u2019s questions at his EUO. The district court granted the motion and dismissed the suit. In affirming the lower court\u2019s decision, the Eleventh Circuit rejected the insured\u2019s argument that his offer to submit to an EUO over a year after Allstate denied his claim created a genuine issue of material fact regarding his compliance with the insurance contract. The Eleventh Circuit reasoned that the insured\u2019s belated offer did not cure his prior breach or reinstate Allstate\u2019s obligation to pay his claim.<\/p>\n<p><em>Hutchinson<\/em>\u00a0follows other court decisions applying a \u201cstrict compliance\u201d standard in determining whether a breach of the EUO requirement is material. Under that standard, an insured\u2019s reliance on the advice of counsel in refusing to answer questions at an EUO is not a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with the EUO requirement.<sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0Likewise, a refusal to submit to an EUO unless it is a stenographic recording, as opposed to an audio recording, is not a reasonable excuse.<sup>4<\/sup>Similarly, the insurer\u2019s failure to provide information concerning its investigation, including copies of previous statements, is not a reasonable excuse.<sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0Nor is the insurer\u2019s refusal to execute a confidentiality agreement that imposes limitations on the insurer\u2019s use of the insured\u2019s personal information a reasonable excuse for the insured\u2019s non-compliance with the EUO requirement.<sup>6<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The result in\u00a0<em>Hutchinson<\/em>\u00a0may have been different if the insured had initially retained counsel to represent him at the EUO. Unfortunately, I receive many calls from policyholders whose claims were denied after they submitted to an EUO without legal representation. In many cases, the dye has been cast, and there is little I can do to help them. So, to all insureds out there, make sure you have experienced counsel who understand the EUO requirement attend any EUO.<br \/>\n_____________________<br \/>\n<sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0<em>Adjusting Today<\/em>\u00a0is published as a public service by Adjusters International, Inc.<br \/>\n<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0<em>Hutchinson v. Allstate Ins. Co.<\/em>, 2018 WL 3359549 (11th Cir. July 10, 2018).<br \/>\n<sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0<em>See<\/em>\u00a0<em>Abdelhamid v. Fire Ins. Exch.<\/em>, 106 Cal. Rptr.3d 26 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010).<br \/>\n<sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0<em>See<\/em>\u00a0<em>N.C. Farm Bur. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Lilley<\/em>, 2018 WL 414135 (N.C. App January 16, 2018).<br \/>\n<sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0<em>See<\/em>\u00a0<em>Lester v. Allstate Ins. Co.<\/em>, 743 F.3d 469 (6th Cir. 2014);\u00a0<em>Morris v. Econ. Fire &amp; Cas. Co<\/em>., 848 N.E.2d 663 (Ind. 2006).<br \/>\n<sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0<em>See<\/em>\u00a0<em>Safeco Ins. Co. of Oregon v.<\/em>\u00a0Masood, 330 P.3d 61 (Or. Ct. App. 2014).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Edward Eshoo | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | August 4, 2018 My article published in\u00a0Adjusting Today,1\u00a0Property Insurance 101: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Examinations Under Oath \u2013 But Were Afraid to Ask!, was the subject of\u00a0my blog post last month. As discussed in the article, an examination under oath (\u201cEUO\u201d) is not&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/examinations-oath-careful-ask\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Examinations Under Oath: Be Careful What You Ask For<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[172],"tags":[9895,475],"class_list":["post-894723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-law-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-examinations-under-oath","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Examinations Under Oath: Be Careful What You Ask For - Advise &amp; 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