Denied Insurance Claim

[pjholland25]

My wife and I sold a home in Minnesota in Sept 2001. Before deciding to sell, we fixed the roof. There was an old woodstove in the basement that we were sure that we would never use. When putting the shingles on, the chimney was taken out and we covered the hole and shingled over it. We were going to remodel the basement and remove the entire woodstove assembly. When we decided to sell, I asked our realtor if I should remove it because it was not functional. He said that because of the cost of stove pipe, we should leave it in the basement and mark the "not-functional" box next to the woodstove category, thinking that the buyers would attach the chimney if necessary. We sold the house and the buyers opted not to have an inspection done. In November they tried to start a fire in the woodstove and did around $25k worth of damage. Who's fault is this? The buyers for not having the inspection done, the realtor's for not verbally telling the buyer's agent about it, or ours for not removing the woodstove? I have heard that because the disclosure was filled out(with the "not-functional" box checked off) we are liable for not making it known in advance. Our insurance company has denied the claim because we filled out the disclosure form and they think that it is the fault of the buyer for not having an inspection. What "legal" recourse do we have?? Is it right for the ins co to deny???

 

[ALawyer]

This is a highly fact specific case and one in which your insurance company is defending you. That's their job. They pay their lawyers big bucks for that defense. And their lawyers are acting in your behalf, and may even name the realtor as a third party defendant. But right or wrong -- and likely a little bit of both, so a settlement at some point is likely -- you should not be PERSONALLY liable.