The Monson Law Firm successfully excluded a public adjuster from serving as an appraiser. In the case of “Americas Insurance Company v. Vance”, the insured presented an estimate from a public adjuster that clearly established a dispute as to the amount of the loss. Based on this, both Americas and the insured agreed to go to appraisal. On behalf of Americas, The Monson Law Firm objected to the original public adjuster acting as the insured’s appraiser based on La. R.S. 22:1706(H)(10), which specifically prohibits this behavior. The insured argued that their public adjuster was merely an expert witness and not subject to the statute. After oral argument from Lauren Baudot, in the first decision in Louisiana of its kind, the court agreed with Americas, disqualifying the public adjuster and ordering the insured to choose a new appraiser. For a copy of the decision, please click here.
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