Homeowners Win Case in Appeals Court
April 21, 2010
Homeowners represented by Casey & Devoti recently won their appeal of a verdict reached by a jury in Phelps County.
Ross and Tammie Pool sued the insurer of their home after a water pipe burst in a wall of their home. Water from the pipe pooled beneath the home, causing the home to settle. The Pool’s case was tried to a jury in January 2009. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the insurer based upon a faulty instruction submitted by the insurer. An instruction is the written direction given to the jury at the end of the case which directs the jury which facts the jury must find in order to render a verdict.
The Pool family appealed the court’s submission of the insurer’s instruction to the jury. The appeal was filed in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, in Springfield. The Court of Appeals agreed with the Pool family and sent the case back to Phelps County to be re-tried.
Click here to read the Southern District’s opinion.