Buchanan v. NC Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co.

CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedMarch 17, 2020
Docket19-887
StatusPublished

This text of Buchanan v. NC Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. (Buchanan v. NC Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buchanan v. NC Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co., (N.C. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA

No. COA19-887

Filed: 17 March 2020

Mitchell County, No. 16 CVS 229

MICHAEL STACY BUCHANAN, Plaintiff,

v.

NORTH CAROLINA FARM BUREAU MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., Defendant.

Appeal by plaintiff from orders entered 8 December 2017 and 21 June 2019 by

Judges Mark E. Powell and Robert Bell, respectively, in Mitchell County Superior

Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 3 March 2020.

Charlie A. Hunt, Jr. for plaintiff-appellant.

Marcellino & Tyson, PLLC, by Clay A. Campbell, for defendant-appellee.

TYSON, Judge.

Michael Stacy Buchanan (“Plaintiff”) appeals from the order granting, in part,

North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company’s (“Defendant”) motion for

summary judgment, and also from the order granting Defendant’s motion for a

directed verdict. We affirm the trial court’s orders.

I. Background

Plaintiff applied for homeowner’s insurance with Defendant in December 2012.

His application asserted his residence (“the Home”) was built in 1957. After BUCHANAN V. N.C. FARM BUREAU MUT. INS. CO.

Opinion of the Court

Defendant issued Plaintiff a homeowner’s policy (“the Policy”), it learned the Home

had actually been built in 1933. Defendant sent Plaintiff a letter on 8 February 2013,

cancelling the Policy effective as of the end of that month.

Plaintiff submitted a homeowner change application to Defendant on 20

February 2013, requesting a decrease in coverage on the Policy. Defendant reissued

the Policy to Plaintiff and backdated coverage to 19 December 2012. Plaintiff

renewed the Policy on 19 December 2013.

The Home and some of Plaintiff’s personal property were damaged by fire on

10 June 2014. Plaintiff reported the loss to Defendant. An employee of Defendant

met with Plaintiff at the Home later that day. Plaintiff informed Defendant’s

employee he could not enter the Home until the fire investigation was complete.

Defendant’s employee issued Plaintiff a check for $2,000.00 towards Plaintiff’s living

expenses.

Todd Kirby, a large-loss adjuster for Defendant, met with Plaintiff and

inspected and photographed the damage to the Home on 12 June 2014, and again on

28 June 2014. Kirby prepared an estimate of $76,877.72 to repair the damages.

Kirby mailed the estimate to Plaintiff on 1 July 2014. Plaintiff sent Kirby a letter on

5 August 2014, stating he would not be restoring or rebuilding the Home, objecting

to Defendant requiring him to inventory his damaged personal property, wishing to

conclude the settlement process, and requesting $217,000.00 to settle his claims.

-2- BUCHANAN V. N.C. FARM BUREAU MUT. INS. CO.

Kirby replied to Plaintiff with a letter sent 18 August 2014, and enclosed a

section of the Policy outlining, among other duties, Plaintiff’s duty to prepare and

submit an inventory after a loss. On 25 August 2014, Defendant mailed Plaintiff a

check for $4,800.00 to cover additional living expenses for six months. Plaintiff

provided an initial personal property inventory to Defendant in late August 2014.

Kirby reviewed Plaintiff’s inventory and sent a letter to Plaintiff on 10

September 2014 explaining the Policy provisions relating to the differences between

actual cash value (“ACV”) and replacement cost value (“RCV”) for losses. The letter

included a check to Plaintiff for $9,066.16 for the ACV of the property listed in his

inventory. Kirby discussed the estimate with Plaintiff on 15 September 2014 and

advised Plaintiff he could submit his own estimate from a contractor of his choice.

Defendant mailed Plaintiff a second living expenses check for $4,800.00 on 20

November 2014.

Defendant mailed Plaintiff a check for the damage to the Home in the amount

of $74,377.72, the amount of Kirby’s estimate less Plaintiff’s deductible, on 13

January 2015. Plaintiff voided and returned that check to Defendant in a letter from

his counsel on 22 May 2015, which also included an estimate prepared by a general

contractor indicating $147,125.34 would be a reasonable cost for repairs. Defendant

replied to Plaintiff’s counsel seeking supporting documentation for the estimate.

-3- BUCHANAN V. N.C. FARM BUREAU MUT. INS. CO.

Plaintiff’s counsel submitted additional pages of inventory to Defendant on 31 July

2015.

Kirby determined the ACV of the additional inventory was $8,870.82, and

Defendant issued a check to Plaintiff for that amount on 28 August 2015. Defendant

reiterated its request for supporting documentation in letters to Plaintiff’s counsel on

27 October 2015 and 16 February 2016.

Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant on 15 November 2016, seeking damages

caused by the fire and alleging breach of the Policy contract and unfair and deceptive

trade practices. Defendant filed a motion to stay the proceedings and compel

appraisal pursuant to the Policy on 9 December 2016. The trial court granted

Defendant’s motion to stay and compelled appraisal by order entered on 2 March

2017.

Plaintiff moved to terminate the stay on 30 May 2017, after retaining his own

appraiser, alleging dilatory inaction by Defendant. The trial court denied Plaintiff’s

motion and modified the order granting the stay to set a calendar for the appraisal.

The chosen umpire made his appraisal award in September 2017.

Plaintiff appealed the order on 2 October 2017, and also filed a motion to stay

the proceedings pending its appeal. Defendant filed three motions with the trial court

on 10 October 2017: to dismiss Plaintiff’s appeal, for summary judgment, and to

confirm the appraisal award. The trial court entered a series of orders on 8 December

-4- BUCHANAN V. N.C. FARM BUREAU MUT. INS. CO.

2017: denying Plaintiff’s motion to stay, dismissing Plaintiff’s appeal, and granting

partial summary judgment in favor of Defendant on the issue of unfair and deceptive

trade practices.

Plaintiff appealed the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment. This

Court dismissed his appeal as interlocutory in an unpublished opinion on 16 April

2019. Buchanan v. N.C. Farm Bureau Mut. Ins. Co. __ N.C. App. __, 825 S.E.2d 704

(2019) (unpublished). The parties proceeded to trial in May 2019.

Defendant made several motions in limine prior to trial, including to exclude

any information that arose after the appraisal award, specifically identifying a report

by Plaintiff’s proposed expert witness, Terry LaDuke, based on his inspection of the

Home in September 2018. The trial court preliminarily reserved ruling on the

motion.

Defendant’s counsel renewed his motion in limine prior to LaDuke taking the

stand as Plaintiff’s final witness. The trial court heard arguments, allowed

Defendant’s motion, and excluded LaDuke’s proposed testimony and report from

evidence. Plaintiff rested his case, and Defendant moved for a directed verdict. The

trial court granted Defendant’s motion for a directed verdict and entered its order on

21 June 2019. Plaintiff filed timely notice of appeal.

II. Jurisdiction

-5- BUCHANAN V. N.C. FARM BUREAU MUT. INS. CO.

Plaintiff’s brief does not include a statement of the grounds for appellate

review, as required by N.C. R. App. P. 28(b)(4). “Compliance with the rules . . . is

mandatory.” Dogwood Dev. & Mgmt. Co., LLC v. White Oak Transp. Co., 362 N.C.

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