Debt from a insurance

[Marina373737]

Missouri.
I am needing some sort of help I can get. So long story short, my dad was involved in a 3 vehicle accident his being the only semi truck the others were pick ups. He had his claim paid off but his insurance did not pay the others. Now one of the insurance sued him personally for bodily damage to his pick up truck. The accident happened in aug 2017 and my dad was diagnosed with dementia on sept of 2018. My question is can they take away his land that he still owns under his name, his wife’s and his daughter’s?

 

[LdiJ]

I am needing some sort of help I can get. So long story short, my dad was involved in a 3 vehicle accident his being the only semi truck the others were pick ups. He had his claim paid off but his insurance did not pay the others. Now one of the insurance sued him personally for bodily damage to his pick up truck. The accident happened in aug 2017 and my dad was diagnosed with dementia on sept of 2018. My question is can they take away his land that he still owns under his name, his wife’s and his daughter’s?

Please don't post multiple threads on the same subject. This is also twice that you have deliberately not told us what state you are in.

 

[Marina373737]

Please don't post multiple threads on the same subject. This is also twice that you have deliberately not told us what state you are in.

I do apologize for that. And if you’ll excuse me, I’m very new to this as you can tell. I also updated the post with the state needed.

 

[LdiJ]

It looks like that in Missouri a judgment lien can be attached to the property, that can last for 10 years, and is renewable. If the property is sold his share of it could be used to satisfy the lien. It does not appears that the creditor can force the sale of the property. If the property is a primary residence of the debtor, there is also a homestead exemption that would exempt part of his share of the sales proceeds from the sale from the judgment.

The creditor cannot touch any of the proceeds from you or your mother's share.

 

[Marina373737]

It looks like that in Missouri a judgment lien can be attached to the property, that can last for 10 years, and is renewable. If the property is sold his share of it could be used to satisfy the lien. It does not appears that the creditor can force the sale of the property. If the property is a primary residence of the debtor, there is also a homestead exemption that would exempt part of his share of the sales proceeds from the sale from the judgment.

The creditor cannot touch any of the proceeds from you or your mother's share.

When you speak of a homestead exemption is that going bankrupt?

 

[LdiJ]

When you speak of a homestead exemption is that going bankrupt?

No, I was speaking about any sale of the property. However, a homestead exemption likely applies to bankruptcy as well.

 

[adjusterjack]

My question is can they take away his land that he still owns under his name, his wife’s and his daughter’s?

You should be more concerned with notifying the insurance company he had at the time of the accident. They will handle the lawsuit. Do that ASAP.

 

[Marina373737]

You should be more concerned with notifying the insurance company he had at the time of the accident. They will handle the lawsuit. Do that ASAP.

I’ve given them all the paperwork
all the appropriate paperwork that they asked for and nothing has been done. This has been going on for about a year now. Can I file a lawsuit for bad faith against our insurance?

 

[LdiJ]

I’ve given them all the paperwork
all the appropriate paperwork that they asked for and nothing has been done. This has been going on for about a year now. Can I file a lawsuit for bad faith against our insurance?

?

What do you mean by "nothing has been done"? There would be nothing for your insurance company to do if the plaintiff is not pursuing the case. You definitely gave the lawsuit paperwork to them?

 

[Marina373737]

?

What do you mean by "nothing has been done"? There would be nothing for your insurance company to do if the plaintiff is not pursuing the case. You definitely gave the lawsuit paperwork to them?

I faxed the lawsuit ppw prior to the actual court date over to them. Same goes for the judgement entered on July 2nd that we received over mail. Every time I call they act like they haven’t received any of them. I have to send it all over again to them.
I was told by our claim agent that our insurance offered half of the amount owed and they won’t approve that. What do you advise?

 

[adjusterjack]

My question is can they take away his land that he still owns under his name, his wife’s and his daughter’s?

Getting back to that question, when you say land do you mean just land or land on which there is a house that is your father's primary residence? If just land, then it is not exempt from judgment and can be levied to pay the judgment. If it is his home the exemption is only $15,000. If the property has significantly more equity than $15,000 then it is at risk.

See: MO 513.475:

https://law.justia.com/codes/missouri/2018/title-xxxv/chapter-513/section-513.475/

I faxed the lawsuit ppw prior to the actual court date over to them. Same goes for the judgement entered on July 2nd that we received over mail. Every time I call they act like they haven’t received any of them. I have to send it all over again to them.

Do you have documentation that the fax was actually received by the claims department when you sent it?

I was told by our claim agent that our insurance offered half of the amount owed and they won’t approve that.

The policy obligates the insurance to pay the full amount of the judgment not just part of it.

Can I file a lawsuit for bad faith against our insurance?

Not you. Your father may have grounds for a bad faith lawsuit. You could lay the groundwork by consulting an attorney who specializes in (and wins) bad faith lawsuits. Make sure the attorney has a proven track record of successful bad faith lawsuits. In the end, though, it's your father's claim. You'll be just a witness to what has happened.

 

[Marina373737]

Getting back to that question, when you say land do you mean just land or land on which there is a house that is your father's primary residence? If just land, then it is not exempt from judgment and can be levied to pay the judgment. If it is his home the exemption is only $15,000. If the property has significantly more equity than $15,000 then it is at risk.

See: MO 513.475:

https://law.justia.com/codes/missouri/2018/title-xxxv/chapter-513/section-513.475/


Do you have documentation that the fax was actually received by the claims department when you sent it?



The policy obligates the insurance to pay the full amount of the judgment not just part of it.



Not you. Your father may have grounds for a bad faith lawsuit. You could lay the groundwork by consulting an attorney who specializes in (and wins) bad faith lawsuits. Make sure the attorney has a proven track record of successful bad faith lawsuits. In the end, though, it's your father's claim. You'll be just a witness to what has happened.

Yes I have fax receipts and emails saved. In this case is it better to hire an attorney? And the property has couple living establishments not just the house which he lives in. There is a mobile home and a home/shop apart from the house where my dad stays in. I believe he has 35 acres of property.

 

[adjusterjack]

Yes I have fax receipts and emails saved.

Good.

In this case is it better to hire an attorney?

Yes. Bad faith lawsuits are complicate and requires specific expertise. Fortunately, they potentially involve punitive damages so it's possible for an attorney to work on a contingency.

And the property has couple living establishments not just the house which he lives in. There is a mobile home and a home/shop apart from the house where my dad stays in. I believe he has 35 acres of property.

According to the exemption statute he would qualify for the exemption. However, property like that is probably worth considerably more than $15000. In which case MO 513.480 would also apply:

https://law.justia.com/codes/missouri/2018/title-xxxv/chapter-513/section-513.480/

 

[bcr229]

The policy obligates the insurance to pay the full amount of the judgment not just part of it.

What if the judgment is for more than the policy limits?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

What if the judgment is for more than the policy limits?

The policy obligated them to the limits of the policy. If they failed in their duty to defend and hence may have resulted in a higher award my increase that obligation.