What’s in a name? Enough confusion to sink a subrogation lawsuit and appeal brought by the insurer for a burned-up Hardee’s restaurant, the North Carolina Court of Appeals said Wednesday.
“…The trial court properly determined that Intrepid Agency lacked standing to file the complaint in this matter,” a panel of the court wrote. “Therefore, we affirm the court’s order granting Defendants’ motions to dismiss.”
In 2019, a fire heavily damaged a Hardee’s restaurant in Albemarle, North Carolina. The insurance carrier for the restaurant owner was Intrepid Direct Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Co., a Berkley Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» subsidiary. Intrepid Direct Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Agency was the broker for the restaurant company, the court explained in the .
Three years after the fire, after paying the claim, the insurer filed a subrogation suit against Amerex Corp. and Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, contending that the restaurant’s fire suppression system was faulty and led to the large loss.
But it was the agency’s name that was on the lawsuit complaint. The attorneys for the insurer tried to amend the complaint in 2023, but the amended complaint was again filed under the agency’s name. And by then, the statute of limitations had run, precluding the filing of a separate lawsuit under the correct name.
Three days later, the fire companies asked the trial court to dismiss, since the agency was not an injured party and lacked standing. The trial court agreed and dismissed the suit. Intrepid appealed, but the appellate judges upheld the lower court in an opinion that sounds something like the book and film, “Catch 22.”
“Standing is measured at the time the pleadings are filed,” Appeals Court Judge Valerie Zachary wrote, citing a previous court decision. “In other words, a plaintiff must have standing at the time of filing to have standing at all. Subsequent events cannot confer standing retroactively.”
The court did not explain what Intrepid Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» should have done to correct what Intrepid lawyers considered a scrivener’s error.
In practice, the firms appear to be part of the same company. The insurance company’s website notes: “Intrepid Direct Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» operates as Intrepid Direct Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Agency, LLC.”
One lawyer for Intrepid declined to comment and another could not be reached Wednesday and Thursday.
Photo: Adobe Stock images
Topics North Carolina
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