Cedar Bluff Townhome Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co.

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During a hail storm, all twenty of the townhome buildings managed by Cedar Bluff Townhome Condominium Association (Cedar Bluff) were damaged, with at least one siding panel on each building sustaining damage. Cedar Bluff submitted a claim to American Family Mutual Insurance Company (American Family) under its businessowners’ policy, which provided for the replacement of “damaged property with other property…[o]f comparable material and quality.” A dispute arose as to whether the policy required the replacement of all siding, including undamaged siding, in order to provide a color match. Because the parties were unable to agree on the amount of the loss, Cedar Bluff demanded an appraisal. The appraisal panel concluded that siding of comparable material and quality required a reasonable color match between the damaged and undamaged siding. American Family refused to pay the appraisal award. The court of appeals agreed with the appraisal panel, concluding that “a reasonable person could understand that ‘comparable material’ means material that is the same color as the damaged property.” The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under the terms of its policy with American Family, Cedar Bluff was entitled to have all of the siding panels on each of its twenty buildings replaced. View "Cedar Bluff Townhome Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co." on Justia Law