Eufaula Pulpwood has settled with Lexington Insurance Company for an undisclosed amount an a bad faith claim.
The timber company was represented by Jere Beasley and Clint Carter from the law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles of Montgomery and Jimmy Calton, Sr. and Jim Calton, Jr. of Eufaula.
According to the claims of the suit, the insurance company delayed paying a legitimate claim for an unreasonable amount of time. A piece of equipment, a Morbark chopper harvester, burned while operating on the field.
Eufaula Pulpwood filed a claim immediately, and it was investigated by Lexington. The adjuster for the insurance company recommended that it be paid as a total loss, however the insurance company instead wanted to repair the machine. An independent adjusted and a Lexington agent also suggested to the company they pay Eufaula Pulpwood as a total loss.
The attorneys for Eufaula Pulpwood filed a suit for the insurance claim and bad faith. However, the claim was paid in full just two days after the attorney’s filed.
The suit had a separate bad faith claim that stated that the insurance company had caused Eufaula Pulpwood to lose $1 million dollars in profits by not paying for the machine in a timely matter. Lexington settled the bad faith case with Eufaula Pulpwood one week before the scheduled trial. Lexington Insurance Company requested that the amount of the settlement be undisclosed.
