The roof of Plaintiff's warehouse collapsed as a result of long-term decay. The insurance company refused to pay under plaintiff's property insurance policy, thus plaintiff filed suit to recover its damages. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the insurance company because the loss was not fortuitous and because of exclusions in the policy. An inevitable certainty at the time of contracting the warehouse was in a state of disrepair and decay, it was expected the roof would collapse; therefore, the insurer was not liable. The loss was also excluded under the faulty maintenance, decay/deterioration, wear/tear and other exclusions in the policy. Plaintiff also tried to argue that the 72 days it took the insurance company to deny its claim was vexatious and unreasonable delay under section 155 of the Insurance Code. The court disagreed and held that defendant responded and examined the claim in an expeditious manner. In any regard because plaintiff's loss was not covered by the insurance policy, the defendant could not be liable for section 155 relief where no benefits are owed. Johnson Press of America, Inc. v. Northern Insurance Co., No. 1-02-1540 (1st Dist. June 13, 2003).
