Competing Inferences About Intent or Falsity Defeats Summary Judgment
Post number 5360
Dispute Over Material Facts Makes Summary Judgment Impossible
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In Darlene Mendoza Gonzales v. Safeco Insurance Company Of America, No. 2:24-cv-01832-RAJ, United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle (May 22, 2026) Plaintiff Darlene Mendoza Gonzales owned a home in Tacoma, Washington insured under a Safeco homeowner’s policy.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
For the second loss, Gonzales retained Pacific Public Adjusters (PPA), which submitted repair estimates substantially higher than Safeco’s estimate.
LAW – SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD
Summary judgment is appropriate only where there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law under Rule 56. Courts do not weigh evidence or resolve credibility disputes at this stage.
INSURANCE FAIR CONDUCT ACT (IFCA)
Under Washington law, an insured may maintain an IFCA claim by showing that the insurer unreasonably denied coverage or unreasonably denied payment of benefits.
BREACH OF CONTRACT
An insurer may breach its contractual obligations by failing to conduct a reasonable investigation, by making a compromise offer based on speculation or inaccurate information.
BAD FAITH / NEGLIGENT CLAIMS HANDLING / CPA
An insurer acts in bad faith when its conduct is unreasonable, frivolous, or unfounded.
FRAUD COUNTERCLAIM
Fraud requires proof of intentional misrepresentation or concealment.
DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS - Safeco’s Motion
The court denied Safeco’s request for summary judgment on Gonzales’s IFCA claim because the record contained conflicting evidence about whether Safeco’s April 2024 payment was a reasoned valuation or an unreasonably low offer.
The disputed facts prevented the court from concluding as a matter of law that Safeco acted reasonably.
Gonzales’s Motion
The court denied Gonzales’s request for summary judgment on Safeco’s fraud counterclaim.
Because neither side prevailed on summary judgment, the court declined to reach Safeco’s arguments concerning Gonzales’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees under IFCA and the CPA.
CONCLUSION
The court denied both parties’ motions for summary judgment in full. It held that the record contained multiple genuine disputes.
ZALMA OPINION
Summary judgment is a wonderful tool to resolve lawsuits short of trial. However, it only works when all of the facts resolve all disputes.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Arsonist Tried To Represent Himself, Failed, and Sought Habeas Relief
Post number 5357
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/he-who-acts-his-own-lawyer-has-idiot-client-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-d4bwc, See the full video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog.
Karacson’s Arson for Profit Attempt Required Skill & Experience to Succeed
In Steve Ellis Karacson v. David Shaver, Warden, No. 25-1089, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (May 20, 2026) Steve Karacson was convicted in Michigan state court of arson and insurance fraud after evidence showed he burned his own insured home. Investigators found multiple points of origin, gasoline odor, and evidence tying him to the scene, including cell-phone location data and a receipt showing he had purchased a gas can and gloves shortly before the fire.
FACTS
Karacson initially had appointed counsel, but his relationships with both appointed attorneys ...
Foolish to Repeatedly Disobey Court Orders
All That Remains For Trial Is Plaintiff’s Damages On Each Of These Claims And Establishing Proximate Causation Of Those Damages.
Post number 5348
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In Linh Wang v. Esurance Insurance Company, No. C24-0447-JCC, United States District Court, W.D. Washington, Seattle (May 1, 2026) John C. Coughenour, United States District Judge, found that throughout this case, culminating with its briefing on Plaintiff’s renewed motion and that Defendant has subjected Plaintiff to unnecessary motion practice for clearly discoverable information and made dubious representations (including to the Court).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This case involves an underinsured/uninsured motorist insurance bad faith claim arising from a 2017 motor vehicle collision. The plaintiff, Linh Wang, alleges that Esurance Insurance ...
The Right to Negotiate with Insurer is Not an Assignment of Claims
Post number 5347
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ambiguous-contract-repair-assignment-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-2xppc, see the full video at https://rumble.com/v79is1s-ambiguous-contract-to-repair-not-an-assignment.html and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5300 posts.
Nebraska Requires an Actual Assignment to Allow Contractor to Sue Insurer
In Millard Gutter Company, a corporation doing business as Millard Roofing and Gutter v. Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska, also known as Farmers Mutual Insurance, also known as Farmers Mutual, No. A-24-818, Court of Appeals of Nebraska (May 5, 2026) Millard sued Farmers as an assignee of Jane Anzalone who had hired Millard Gutter to repair the roof of her home and agreed to allow Millard Gutter to coordinate with her insurer, Farmers Mutual, concerning reimbursement for repairs authorized under her insurance policy.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
In ...
Taking Money From a Client Trust Account Warrants Severe Disciplinary Sanction
Post number 5383
Stealing from a Client is Reprehensible
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lawyer-state-senator-permanently-disbarred-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-ixf9e and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5350 posts.
In Re: Derrick D.T. Shepherd, No. 2026-OB-00357, Supreme Court of Louisiana (June 25, 2026) petitioner Derrick D.T. Shepherd, a former Louisiana State Senator and attorney, pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiracy to commit money laundering after using his client trust account to help launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees. The Louisiana Supreme Court permanently disbarred him in 2012.
Shepard returned $75,000 to Ms. Moyo and kept the rest of the funds for himself, using $20,000 to retire his campaign debt. To conceal all of this activity, Shepard created false billing statements and time records reflecting work his law firm had purportedly done on behalf of his “client,” Ms. ...
Negligent Hiring Tort not Preempted by Federal Statute
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In Shawn Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, et al., 608 U.S.__ No. 24-1238, United States Supreme Court (May 14, 2026) Shawn Montgomery suffered severe and permanent injuries when his tractor trailer was struck by a truck driven by Yosniel Varela-Mojena while Varela-Mojena was transporting plastic pots through Illinois for Caribe Transport II, LLC. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., acting as a transportation broker, had arranged the shipment.
Montgomery sued the driver, the motor carrier, the broker, and related entities, alleging that C.H. Robinson negligently hired Varela-Mojena and Caribe Transport despite safety information that allegedly showed Caribe Transport posed an unreasonable risk of crashes and injury.
LAW
The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act ...
Million Dollar Roundup Verdict Reversed by SCOTUS
FIFRA Preempts the State-Law Failure-to-Warn Claim
Post number 5381
Posted on June 26, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, Certiorari To The Court Of Appeals Of Missouri, Eastern District, No. 24–1068, argued April 27, 2026, decided June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court reversed a $1 million judgment found by a Missouri state court.
Facts
John Durnell sued Monsanto in Missouri state court, alleging that his long-term use of Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and that Monsanto should have warned users of cancer risks. A jury awarded Durnell more than $1 million on a failure-to-warn theory, and the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether FIFRA preempts the state-law failure-to-warn claim.
Monsanto manufactures and distributes Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide. The Environmental Protection Agency has repeatedly evaluated glyphosate and has concluded that it is not likely to cause cancer; ...
