Robert C. Zeidler v. Allstate Vehicle & Property, Ins. Co., et al.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJune 9, 2026
Docket1:24-cv-00621
StatusUnknown

This text of Robert C. Zeidler v. Allstate Vehicle & Property, Ins. Co., et al. (Robert C. Zeidler v. Allstate Vehicle & Property, Ins. Co., et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert C. Zeidler v. Allstate Vehicle & Property, Ins. Co., et al., (N.D. Ohio 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

ROBERT C. ZEIDLER, ) CASE NO. 1:24CV621 ) Plaintiff, ) JUDGE CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO ) vs. ) ) ALLSTATE VEHICLE & PROPERTY, ) OPINION AND ORDER INS. CO., et al., ) Defendants. ) CHRISTOPHER A. BOYKO, J.: This matter comes before the Court upon the Motion of Defendants Allstate Vehicle and Property Insurance Company and Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF DKT #36). For the following reasons, the Court grants the Motion in part. I. BACKGROUND In his Complaint, Plaintiff Robert Zeidler alleges he is an insured of Defendants Allstate Vehicle & Property Insurance Company and Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company. (“Allstate”) under policies that cover his residence and automobile. Zeidler owns property made up of a residence and a separate garage located at 10835 Washington Street in Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023. On March 12, 2023, a fire damaged the residence, garage and personal property within both structures. While Allstate paid out on the structural claim, it allegedly failed to reimburse Zeidler for a substantial portion of the damage to the contents within the garage and residence. Moreover, Zeidler claims that the adjuster assigned to his claim abruptly ceased communicating with him. The Allstate home insurance policy provided additional coverage for living expenses (ALE) which included any rental expenses while the home and garage were

being repaired. Allstate only covered a portion of the living expenses Zeidler incurred. Zeidler also was insured under an Allstate vehicle insurance policy, with an effective date of May 29, 2023. On June 3, 2023, Zeidler’s 2008 F250 Ford Pickup truck sustained damages. Allstate sent Zeidler to Crash Champions in Bedford Heights for a damages estimate which Crash Champions assessed at $4,900.66. Zeidler then had a second assessment done by Highway Auto Center which estimated the damages at $5,387.99. Despite these assessments Allstate without explanation only offered $4,010.00 to cover the damages.1 Zeidler asserts claims for

Breach of Contract and Bad Faith on both the Home and Vehicle Policies and seeks punitive damages. Allstate’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Allstate moves the Court for judgment solely on Zeidler’s Bad Faith claims because he cannot show that Allstate’s coverage decisions had no basis. Under Ohio law, if the defendants’ coverage decisions are “fairly debatable” the Court must grant summary judgment in their favor. Furthermore, Zeidler provides no evidence that he suffered damages solely related to Allstate’s alleged bad faith. Finally, Allstate moves for judgment on Zeidler’s Punitive Damages claim

1There is a discrepancy about the amount Allstate offered to repair the truck. In his deposition (ECF DKT #34-1), Zeidler testifies that Allstate made a $3900 offer; but in the Complaint and in his Declaration (ECF DKT #37-1, ¶33), Zeidler says the offer was $4010. In any event, Zeidler did not accept the offer which was less than all the repair estimates he obtained. 2 because there can be no recovery for punitive damages absent a viable claim for bad faith. Zeidler’s Opposition to Allstate’s Motion Zeidler asserts that he has provided Allstate with three separate damage estimates on his truck; yet without any evidence or explanation, Allstate offered nearly one thousand dollars less

than the lowest estimate. In fact, that lowest estimate was provided by the very entity recommended by Allstate to Zeidler. While the difference is only a thousand dollars, failure to pay the actual costs of repairs without any explanation is a textbook example of bad faith. Moreover, because Allstate failed to offer any explanation for refusing to pay the estimated damage costs, Allstate cannot show that the offered coverage amount is fairly debatable. Therefore, Zeidler argues that the Court should deny Allstate’s Motion regarding the vehicle policy Bad Faith claim.

Zeidler acknowledges that the Homeowners’ Policy claim is more complex since it involves multiple coverage clauses including: Dwelling Coverage; Other Structures Coverage; Contents Coverage; Additional Living Expenses Coverage; and Debris Removal Coverage. Zeidler recognizes that Allstate paid substantial amounts on some coverage claims. However, Allstate failed to explain why it refused to pay out the full amount for actual losses he incurred; and that constitutes bad faith. II. LAW AND ANALYSIS Standard of Review

Summary judgment shall be granted only if “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The burden is on the moving party to conclusively show no genuine issue 3 of material fact exists. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986); Lansing Dairy. Inc. v. Espy, 39 F.3d 1339, 1347 (6th Cir. 1994). The moving party must either point to “particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations, admissions, interrogatory answers, or other

materials” or show “that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A), (B). A court considering a motion for summary judgment must view the facts and all inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). Once the movant presents evidence to meet its burden, the nonmoving party may not rest on its pleadings, but must come forward with some significant probative evidence to support its claim. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324; Lansing

Dairy, 39 F.3d at 1347. This Court does not have the responsibility to search the record sua sponte for genuine issues of material fact. Betkerur v. Aultman Hospital Ass 'n., 78 F.3d 1079, 1087 (6th Cir. 1996); Guarino v. Brookfield Township Trustees, 980 F.2d 399, 404-06 (6th Cir. 1992). The burden falls upon the nonmoving party to “designate specific facts or evidence in dispute,” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50 (1986); and if the nonmoving party fails to make the necessary showing on an element upon which it has the burden of proof, the moving party is entitled to summary judgment. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. Whether summary judgment is

appropriate depends upon “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Amway Distributors Benefits Ass 'n v. Northfield Ins. Co., 323 F.3d 386, 390 (6th Cir. 2003) 4 (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52). Bad Faith and Ohio Law “A federal court sitting in diversity applies the substantive law of the state in which it sits.” Hastings Mut. Ins. Co. v. Mengel Dairy Farms, LLC, 461 F.Supp. 3d 655, 660 (N.D. Ohio

2020), quoting Hayes v.

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Bluebook (online)
Robert C. Zeidler v. Allstate Vehicle & Property, Ins. Co., et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-c-zeidler-v-allstate-vehicle-property-ins-co-et-al-ohnd-2026.