Ohio allows insurance companies to shorten the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit to those specified in the policy terms. The Ohio Supreme Court has established a contractual one-year statute of limitations for a property insurance claim arising from a tree falling on a house:1
Viewing the record in a light most favorable to Dominish, as we must do when reviewing a case decided on summary judgment, we conclude that Nationwide offered to pay the portion of the claim for which it believed itself liable , that it denied all other claims, that it had a limitation clause in its policy, that it informed Dominish of the clause, that it asserted the clause at every possible opportunity, and that Dominish was not induced to forego suing by anything Nationwide did . Accordingly, we conclude that Nationwide did not waive its right to enforce the limitation of action clause.
Ohio follows the rule that an insurer may waive the limitation of coverage clause:
An insurance company may be deemed to have waived a limitation of action clause in a fire insurance policy by acts or declarations evidencing an admission of liability, or acts or declarations which give reasonable hope of adjustment and which acts or declarations cause the delay. by the insured bringing an action against the insurance contract after the limitation period has expired.
Ohio policyholders who suffer a loss should check the policy to determine the limitation of suit clause in the policy. If the time period has already passed, policyholders should seek legal advice to determine whether a waiver can be proven.
Today̵7;s thought
Ohio claims they will have a president because they haven’t had one since Taft. Look at the US, they haven’t had one since Lincoln.
– Will Rogers
1 Dominish v. Nationwide Ins. Co.129 Ohio St. 3d 466 (Ohio 2011).
Source link
