33 Carpenters Construction, Inc.
v.
The Cincinnati Insurance Company
Plaintiff, a home repair contractor, appealed from a summary judgment dismissing its action against defendant insurer to recover insurance proceeds for plaintiff’s repair work on a storm-damaged home owned by defendant’s insured. Plaintiff contended it is entitled to recover from defendant under the policy based on the homeowner’s post-loss assignment of the claim to plaintiff, and the district court erred in finding that the assignment was invalid because plaintiff had acted as an unlicensed public adjuster in violation of Iowa Code chapter 522C. Defendant cross-appealed from the district court’s earlier ruling denying defendant’s application to terminate the case’s status as an expedited civil action. The court of appeals affirmed the summary judgment. Plaintiff seeks further review.
Appellant
33 Carpenters Construction, Inc.
Appellee
The Cincinnati Insurance Company
Attorneys for the Appellant
Kyle J. McGinn
Edward F. Noethe
Attorney for the Appellee
Sean M. O’Brien
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
Non-Oral
Jan 23, 2020 1:30 PM
Briefs
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Date Amended:
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Mullins, J. (11 pages)
33 Carpenters Construction, Inc. appeals an order granting summary judgment in favor of The Cincinnati Insurance Company on its claim of breach of contract. Cincinnati cross-appeals the court’s denial to remove the case from the expedited civil action process. OPINION HOLDS: We find there is no genuine issue of fact that 33 Carpenters acted as a public adjuster without the proper licensure in connection with an assignment it obtained from a homeowner in relation to an insurance claim. As such, the assignment between 33 Carpenters and the homeowner is unenforceable and Cincinnati is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. We need not address Cincinnati’s cross-appeal.