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Maryland court says mistaken umpire signature created no State Farm award
The appeals court found the umpire performed no appraisal work and signed the award section by mistake, leaving State Farm with no binding appraisal decision to pay.
A Maryland appeals court ruled that an umpire's mistaken signature on an appraisal document did not create a binding award in a homeowner insurance dispute involving a State Farm homeowners policy, Insurance Business reported.
The case stemmed from a burst pipe that damaged a homeowner's house and belongings, leading the parties to invoke the policy's appraisal clause after they could not agree on the size of the loss.
Under the appraisal clause, each side selects an appraiser, and if they disagree, the differences go to an umpire whose decision binds both sides. In this matter, the appraisers could not agree, so the umpire was involved, and the umpire signed a one-page document showing an “Actual Cash Value Loss” of $130,663.
The court affirmed denial of the homeowner's petition to confirm the appraisal document as an arbitration award, holding that a party arguing no award exists does not have to file a timely motion to vacate. It found undisputed evidence that the umpire did no work, received no materials from the insurer’s appraiser, and signed the award section online only by mistake, stating it was not his official determination of damages.