Favorable settlement in a fire loss case 3,000,000 in damage to a church property

MARSHALL WALL (Raleigh) and MEGHAN KNIGHT (Raleigh) reached a favorable settlement in a fire loss case.  The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina as the result of a fire that caused more than $3,000,000 in damage to a church property. Suit was filed by the church’s insurance carrier after it paid the loss.  When the case came to Cranfill Sumner & Hartzog there was already an entry of default against our client, an alarm monitoring service, but the plaintiff had filed an amended complaint.  MR. WALL and MS. KNIGHT were able to answer the amended complaint and contended that by filing the amendment, the plaintiff allowed our client a second chance to answer and avoid a default.  MR. WALL and MS. KNIGHT also argued that the alarm monitoring contract included caps on damages and limitations on the liability of the monitoring company.  The case against our client was ultimately settled for $25,000.