In First Utd. Pentecostal Church v. Church Mut. Ins. Co., ___ F.4th ___, 2024 WL 4511240 (5th Cir. Oct. 17, 2024), one "Sonnier was offered as an expert in 'adjusting and general contract construction.'” First United, 2024 WL 4511240, at *4. Sonnier was offered as an expert by the policyholder, First United.
Mr. Sonnier wrote a report while adjusting the policyholder's claims of damage in 2020 from Hurricanes Laura and Delta in Louisiana. Sonnier relied on a computer program called Xactimate to conduct his adjusting activities during the course of which he prepared an estimate of the loss. He testified that it is standard within the insurance industry to rely on Xactimate to prepare an estimate. His testimony was unrebutted. The Fifth Circuit panel therefore could not say that the trial court's qualification of Sonnier in this case was reversible error. First United, 2024 WL 4511240, at *4.
Further, Mr. Sonnier's report including his report's reliance on Xactimate was attacked on appeal as an impermissible ground for the trial judge to rely on concerning the valuation of damages. However, there was no objection at trial and the insurance carrier was held to have waived the issue on appeal. First United, 2024 WL 4511240, at *5.
Not all was lost for the carrier in this case, however. In the end, the Fifth Circuit panel reversed the trial court's judgment of insurer bad faith under Louisiana law.
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