Parks v. Safeco Ins Co of Illinois

376 P.3d 760, 160 Idaho 556, 2016 Ida. LEXIS 219
Idaho Supreme Court·Decided July 27, 2016·No. Docket 43376·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinions

W. JONES, Justice

I. NATURE OF THE CASE

David and Kristina Parks (collectively the “Parks") appeal from a district court dismissal on summary judgment. A wildfire destroyed the Parks’ house, which was insured by Safeco Insurance Company (“Safeco”). The Parks purchased an existing house, and Safeco paid the Parks a total of $255,000, the cost of the replacement house less the value of the land. The Parks filed a complaint against Safeco alleging: (1) they are entitled to $440,195.55 under the policy and (2) Safeco committed bad faith in handling the claim. Safeco filed a Motion for Summary Judgment asserting that the policy was not breached and its conduct did not constitute bad faith. The Parks filed a Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment asserting that Safeco misrepresented the policy. Additionally, the Parks moved to amend their complaint to include a claim for- punitive damages. The district court held that: (1) there was no breach of contract because the policy was unambiguous and the Parks received the amount due under the clear language of the policy; (2) Safeco did not commit bad faith in handling the claim because it complied with the terms of the policy and paid the Parks the amount owed; and (3) the Parks had not established a reasonable likelihood of proving facts at trial sufficient to support an award of punitive damages.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

On June 28, 2012, a fire in Pocatello, Idaho destroyed the Parks’ house. The Parks’ house was insured through a homeowners policy (“Policy”) issued by Safeco, which provided a total home coverage of $464,875. Following the fire, Safeco hired an appraiser to determine the actual cash value (“ACV”) of the Parks’ destroyed house. The Policy defined ACV as “the market value of property in a used condition equal to that of the lost or damaged property, if reasonably available on the used market.” Mrs. Parks understood that, pursuant to the Policy, Safeco would pay the ACV as soon as the appraisal was completed, but the replacement cost payment would be handled once a replacement was made.

The appraisal was completed on July 21, 2012, and stated that the ACV of the Parks’ destroyed house was $169,000. Accordingly, on July 26, 2012, Safeco mailed a check for [559] $169,000 to the Parks. Although the Parks believed the ACV of then* house was higher than the appraisal, Mr. Parks acknowledged that he had no grounds upon which to argue. Safeco clarified to Mr. Parks that the ACV was not the complete payment; it was “just the beginning.”

In a letter sent with the ACV payment, Safeco informed the Parks that the limit of their coverage was $464,875. The letter stated, “[i]n order to claim the full replacement cost, you must replace the dwelling.” The letter included the relevant portions of the Policy and informed the Parks that Safeco was “in the process of obtaining a replacement cost bid for equivalent construction of your horiie.... You may replace your dwelling on the existing location; build on a new location or purchase an existing home.”

On September 20, 2012, Belfor Construction (“Belfor”), which was hired by Safeco, estimated that it would cost $440,195.55 to replace the Parks’ house, using equivalent construction. On October 17, 2012, the Parks’ stated they could not agree that $169,000 was the ACV of their house. Additionally, the Parks’ asked whether Safeco was willing to be bound by the Belfor estimate. Safeco confirmed that it approved the Belfor estimate and clarified that it would “pay the replacement cost of the dwelling up [to] $440,195.55 or the amount actually incurred, whichever is less.”

On December 6, 2012, the Parks purchased a home in the Idaho Falls area for $300,000 (the house was valued at $255,000 and the land was valued at $45,000),1 Mr. Parks acknowledged that .the amount actually incurred as a result of the fire, in terms of replacing the existing structure, was $300,000, less the value of the land.

On December 26, 2012, the Parks sent a demand letter to Safeco requesting payment of $440,195.55, less the credit of the ACV check, for a net payment of $271,195.55 as their “direct financial loss.” Additionally, the Parks explained that they purchased an existing house in the Idaho Falls area instead of rebuilding on the lot of their destroyed house. Safeco responded to clarify that it agreed to pay up to $440,195.55 for the cost of replacement or the-amount actually incurred;- whichever was less. Safeco also requested documentation to confirm the replacement had been made and the amount actually spent. After receiving no response, Safeco sent another letter, on January 22, 2013, again requesting documents to confirm the purchase of a new house. The following day, the Parks reiterated that their actual loss was $440,195.55. Again, Safeco reqúested the documents necessary to determine the replacement cost. Safeco also stated: “We agree the replacement cost of the damaged structure will be provided up to the amount of $440,195.55. Upon receipt of the documentation to confirm replacement and the amount actually spent, we will promptly review for replacement cost payment per the Loss Settlement provision of our policy.” Safeco continued to request the documents necessary to determine the amount due for the replacement. On May 31, 2013, the Parks provided documentation of the Idaho Falls house purchase, but disputed Safeco’s claim that the replacement cost was limited to the amount actually spent.

On June 8, 2013, Safeco agreed “to pay the additional undisputed amount for the difference between the market value and replacement cost of the dwelling which has been incurred by Mr. And Mrs. Parks at this time.” In response, the Parks notified Safeco they would be “filing suit against Safeco on the house loss given Safeeo’s rejection of the Parks’ right to recover their actual insured loss—their ‘Direct Financial Loss’—acknowledged by Safeco and as determined by its own selected evaluator.” On June 14, 2013, Safeco paid the Parks $86,000 for the undisputed dwelling replacement cost ($300,000 for the cost of the Idaho Falls home, less $45,000 for the land, less the $169,000 previously paid).2

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Parks v. Safeco Ins Co of Illinois, 376 P.3d 760, 160 Idaho 556, 2016 Ida. LEXIS 219 (Idaho 2016).

376 P.3d 760 (Parks v. Safeco Ins Co of Illinois) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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